Cat and Dog Theology

I am reading a book called Cat and Dog Theology. It starts with this old joke:

A dog says, "You pet me, you feed me, you shelter me, you love me, you must be God. A cat says, "You pet me, you feed me, you shelter me, you love me, I must be God."

These traits can be used to look at our own theological values.

According to the book:

For Cats, success is defined in the eyes of men. "How big is our church? How many baptisms are we having each year? How many come to Sunday School?" Dogs define success in the eyes of God. The question is not "How big is our church?" but "Are the people we shepherd obeying the Lord and worshiping Him?"

For Cats, repentance is out, and self-esteem is in. For Dogs, repentance is a part of life, and holiness is in. Cats hunger to be entertained in the church. Dogs hunger to worship God and reflect His glory. Cats love head knowledge. Bible trivia is fun. Dogs love that which draws them closer to God. They are more interested in obeying the Lord than simply knowing about Him.

Cats want the full picture before they obey God. Dogs are happy to obey the little the Lord gives. Cats believe the Church is at peace. Dogs believe the Church is at war. Cats have an arbitrary truth--it changes as the wind changes. Dogs have an absolute truth--it never changes for them. Cats have a "feel-good" theology. Dogs have an "obedience" theology.

Cats see missions as reaching out to the foreign family who runs the local 7-eleven convenience store. Dogs see missions as revealing His glory to all the people groups of the earth. Cats can't envision a loving God sending anyone to hell. Dogs know that hell exists because a loving God is holy and just and promises to judge sin.

Some Cats can't imagine why God would cause anyone to suffer eternally for a finite set of sins. Dogs know that hell is eternal because an infinite glory has been rejected. Cats see an immigrant family move next door and think, "There goes the neighborhood." Dogs see it as an opportunity to reveal God's glory to another culture. Cats want their children to bring them glory. Dogs want their children to bring glory to God.

Cats see a job as a means of attaining wealth. Dogs see a job as a ministry opportunity. Cats think God is a means to an end. Dogs think God IS the end.

You get the picture. The kennel that is the church is full of both Cats and Dogs. I'm sure you know some of both. The thing is, (and I do mean this without being mean to cats) God wants his Kingdom to go to the Dogs! It is high time we stopped living like everything is about us and living for God. After all, everything IS all about Him! So grab a Milk-Bone and let's get busy!