A new dog will be moving into our house soon. The sworn limit of two, four-legged pets has been lifted. The girls are happy. I am questioning my resolve. We have already met Leonardo, and as you can tell, named him, etc. Leonardo is lucky, he was born in a good home (our friends, the Cockrells) and will move to a good home. Plenty of love to go around.Reminded of the old story about an ad in the newspaper: Lost dog, walks with a limp, has the mange, one eye, answers to the name of Lucky. "Lucky" as the story goes, really was named correctly. Lucky was lucky because someone cared enough to look for him.
Michael Vick's dogs were not very lucky. As the story continues to be written, the gruesome nature of his crimes have come to light. Michael Vick was wrong and deserved punishment. Yet (thinking out loud) I feel so conflicted. I watch our confused culture continue punish a person for something he has already been punished for. If his mistakes were drugs, adultery, abortion, etc. he would have been forgiven years ago (if those would have been considered offensive in the first place) by the NFL and others. I am a Steve McNair fan, as a football player. But the sordid and tragic details of his lifestyle seemed to be only a small part of the story of this football hero.
Second chances are all relative, right? You deserve a second chance in direct proportion to how much I am repulsed (offended) by what you did the first time. I will think of dogs every time I see Michael Vick this season. I can't help it. I may hide Leonardo's eyes when he comes on the screen. Stitch does not watch T.V. (our other dog), he lives outdoors, so no protection needed there. But I will be reminded of second, third, and fourth chances I have received from God, my wife, my children, and my friends. I will remember (in spite of some cracker jack sermons) my tendency to be offended by the sins in others I have never committed, and not offended by the sins I have committed (and still do commit).
Will Michael Vick sin again? Yep, I'll bet he has. Will he abuse dogs again? Maybe. Our tendency to relapse is great. Will I be sorry I wrote this if he does? Nope, not at all. We have no hope but grace. Thank you Lord. I need some now.
