We have a cat. Other than having multiple extra toes (a condition that makes him a Hemingway cat, which is why my wife wanted him in the first place), he's not really any different than most cats that I've been around. Meaning that when he wants attention and to be petted he will pester you know end, but when you want to play with him and enjoy a little cat companionship he wants to do anything and everything else other than spend time with you. Cats are selfish pets. They act pet-like, come to you, allow interaction, etc., when it suits them and totally act like you don't exist when it suits them to do that. And obedience? I don't think so...at least not frequently enough to call it obedience. Obedience when it suits them or the call/command is what they wanted in the first place is not true submission. A quote I'm fond of that describes this phenomena is, "My dog thinks he's human. My cat thinks he's God."
Dogs on the other hand, in general, are more companion animals. They obey to please. They come when called. And whether you've been away from them five minutes or five days, they are grateful to see you and have your attention. This is part of why dogs are called man's best friend. By the way, if this seems like I'm knocking cats, I'm not. I actually spend more time with Spock, the cat, and like him more than the majority of canines in my home at the moment.
That said the attributes I described, when they are accurate and apply, make dogs better companions than cats the majority of the time. So which you prefer may depend on the quantity of companionship you're looking for in a pet. But why bring this up at all?
I was spending a little quality time with the cat (I guess he was in the mood to want to spend time with me) when I started thinking about this subject and how it's all too easy for me to act like a cat instead of a dog with God. No, God doesn't want us to be pets. He called us to become His children. But He does want our companionship, a true relationship with us. How many times have I acted like a cat with God? When I craved His attention and blessing, I rub His leg, purr and beg for Him to scratch behind my ears so to speak. I come when His call consists of Him spiritually opening a can of tuna. But when something shiny or spinning catches my eye I dart off to play and do my own thing, acting as though He doesn't exist, like He doesn't want me to stay in His arms. No, I don't want to be held right now, I don't want to be a companion and please Him, I want to do what I want to do. When what I want is Him, I'll be back, and He better respond to me the way I want the moment I want Him too.
That is total selfishness and no way to be a companion of God. Like the cat in the quote, it's me thinking I am, or at last acting like I am, God. I want to control the relationship, how much and how often we spend time together. I want to do what I want, when I want. When that includes time with God and doing His will, then it's easy to act obedient. But when I want, or think or feel like I want, to do my own thing, to engage in the pleasures of the world and self, then like a good agnostic I can turn the God awareness off and act as though He isn't there, or doesn't matter. The bad thing is this type of thinking and acting always, always, always leads to misery and destruction, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, but always. The worse thing is that knowing where it leads I still cant's seem to continue to not act like a cat. I can stop for a while, but sooner or later....there I go again.
In recovery parlance, I admit I am powerless over selfishness, even when I know it's destructive, I can't stop starting to indulge myself, and once I start I can't control how long I'll be self-indulgent or how bad it'll have to hurt before I can stop again. But like any addiction, the solution is the same. In fact, all addictions have this one as the root. Selfishness and self-centeredness is the root of all our problems and addictions. It's the reason for the fall in the garden. The self-centeredness that makes us want to be our own god is the seed that produces the pride that even led to Lucifer's disgrace. The solution is relationship with a power greater than us, more specifically The Power that created us, more specifically God. It is through relationship with God and submitting when we can that opens us up to receive the power and grace to stay submitted when we are less interested in Him and more pulled toward self. We have to submit when we can, but it's only His power that can keep us submitting and His grace that can call us back to submission after we've fallen short of perfect submission to His will. By His grace and through His power we can be companions of God, we can be God's best friends.
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