The green ball flies through the hot summer air, whizzing ore the grassy green field. The ball lands and is instantly engulfed in the green blades. Camouflaged now by its nest in the grass, the ball eludes the little pup that sprang for it when it was thrown. The pup is not deterred however, despite the tall grass and the fact that the tennis ball has totally disappeared from view, the puppy tenaciously keeps after the ball. Zigzagging left and right across the field, nose to the ground, she pauses only every once in a while to sniff the air, trying to catch even the faintest odor of the familiar smell. My scent is what she is striving to catch. Joshy and I watch her with pride. Fiona has been a delight to both of us since Joshy got her for me for Valentines Day. She is quite an odd looking dog, with her brown eyes that have blue swirls in them, and her blue merle coat (typical of the Australian shepherd). She has a very slender body and long legs and ears that stick up and quite a long snout, all this combined I guess makes her look like a coyote, for I have been asked on many occasions if she is one! Makes me even more proud seeing as I love wild dogs J.
Anyways, Joshy and I were greatly delighted when we first discovered how good she was with fetch. Running hard after the ball, she always brings it back and gives it to us for another round. She will play fetch all day if we let her. Even when she is beat tired, as soon as she catches sight of her Frisbee or hears the sound of a tennis ball on concrete, she is to her feet, eyes sparkling; they dance almost daring you to throw whatever is in your hand.
“Look at her Joshy…she won’t give up till she finds it or we call her off and stick her in her kennel.” A winsome grin tenderly lights upon his handsome face, that cockeyed grin I love so, as he says “I know. She won’t.”
“She is a good dog…I’m so proud of her.”
All the while, all she can think about is finding that ball and bringing it back to us. For she knows that we will be most pleased with her, and this is the her soul desire at the moment: for her masters to be delighted. And Nothing, nothing would stop her, she will keep after that ball till she finds it, and find it she always does, because she is tenacious, she won’t give it up!
The hot summer wind blows my fly away hairs all about, Joshy slips his hand into mine as we walk side by side. We were both buzzing with talk about different things, lost in conversation. Suddenly Fiona begins to bark and strains at the leash. Our attention is ripped from one another to a stupid squirrel in a yard we were walking past. Josh pulls Fiona in closer. “Fiona, NO! Fiona that’s enough, Fiona…” That stern tone is hardly ever heard from Josh’s mouth. He is such a sweet man, he is usually either really happy (hyper lol) or sad, never usually angry or stern. But when he is, he gets a stern tone. Employing that now, Joshy continues to call her name, pulling her from the yard and back onto the sidewalk. Had Josh not been stronger than Fiona and able to pull her away, she would stay after that squirrel till it got away or she got it.
So was this her tenaciousness at work again as it was with the tennis ball? Or was this something else? Stubbornness is more like it! It is her tenaciousness twisted around in an ugly and most annoying form.
For every good thing of God, Satan always offers a counterfeit. This is something that looks very similar to the “real deal” but is totally false. It’s like having a bowl of whipped topping (God’s goodness) before us and then a bowl of shaving cream (Satan’s counterfeit), they both look alike but are obviously very very different! Used for two very separate purposes, and won’t work well in either’s place.
The one that is probably most popular is God’s Creation Account in Genesis 1 verses the Evolution Theory in Darwin’s’ book. They look alike in that they both try to answer how everything got here, but the difference is one is a theory and one is indeed fact (Romans 1)!
As I have pondered these things betwixt Satan and God I have found that there are many “real deals” and their “counterfeits” combinations.
Some that hit closer for us perhaps are the world’s philosophy of “love yourself” verses God’s law that says we ought to love Him first and then others (Matthew 5:45). Notice even how different the wording is there. One is a philosophy, this carries with it the notion of if you want to, it’s up for grabs and for debate. While God’s is not a philosophy it is a command. It is a must, it is not up for debate or discussion; we are to love God and our neighbors, end of story! Notice the very different purposes as well. One is centered on purposes and goals that help to satisfy and delight self; while the other is centered on purposes and goals that help to satisfy and delight God.
The one that hits closest to home for me is tenaciousness (God’s) versus stubbornness (Satan’s). Some might say “well are they not the same thing?” My argument is that they are not. True they are both energy that stands against something. Like a rock in the midst of a mighty and raging river. All about the rock things are tossed too and fro. Sticks, logs, foam and leaves are all at the mercy of the currents. They are moved along by the current, taken wherever it goes, but not a rock. It stands firm in its place, despite the pounding water against it. Both tenaciousness and stubbornness are like that rock, they both stand against the currents that come their way. They both don’t budge.
However, there is obviously a fine line betwixt the two. The difference lies within their end, within their goals. Tenaciousness has a good goal, a goal that is set on delighting in and satisfying God no matter the cost. While stubbornness is focused entirely on self, on delighting in and satisfying self, no matter the cost.
Think back to the two scenarios with my pup Fiona. In the first scenario, with the frisbee, we would say that Fiona was being tenacious. She was focused on pleasing her masters and would not give up till she did it. However, with the squirrel, she was being stubborn, digging her heals in and not willing to move. In one instance her energy and ability to not give up was good, in another it was entirely wrong and a hindrance to us, her owners. The same can be said of us and our relationship to God! When we are focused on what God wants us to be doing (the Frisbee), when we have delighting Him as our highest goal, then our stubbornness is actually tenaciousness. But when we have delighting self as our goal that tenaciousness is twisted into stubbornness. So what we need to watch most closely is not what we are heading after (the Frisbee or squirrel) but WHO we are heading after. For when we truly have pleasing God as our goal our stubbornness becomes tenaciousness. Our pride becomes humility. Our selfishness becomes selflessness. Our hate becomes love. Our anger becomes peace. Our stealing becomes giving. Our lying becomes integrity and honesty. Our hurtful and wrong speech becomes blessing the Lord and others, and the list goes on. It’s no wonder than that Christ told us to “guard our hearts, for out of it spring the issues of life.” He knows that we were made to worship, made to delight someone other than ourselves, and He knew that whoever/whatever has the thrones of our hearts would be played out and seen in the things we do and say.
So much can change just with (W)who is on the throne of your heart!
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