Consequences

When I was young...probably in 1st grade, we had 2 dogs.  They were mutts and outside dogs, but they were my best friends at the time.  During summer vacation, I found that if I threw rocks (small rocks...nothing that would really hurt them) that they would get angry and would bark and growl at me.  I thought it was great fun...to see them get angry and bark.  I did this long enough so that even when I didn't throw rocks at them...if I was just near them and would make a sudden movement, they would get up and bark and growl and even snap at me.  They never hurt me, but my actions were certainly making them hostile toward me.

Once day I was outside with my Dad and he witnessed what the dogs would do while I was running by them and he was very alarmed.  He said to me, "I can't have dogs that I can't trust...you are more important to me than those dogs and I can't have dogs around who I think might even bite you."  I tried to tell him that it was my fault...not theirs..I was the one who teased them and got them mean.  He would have none of it.  He went into the house and got his gun and shot those two dogs right in front of my very eyes.  I cried for days. But it taught me a valuable lesson I probably could have learned in no other way.

1) My actions can hurt, even if I didn't intend for them to do so.

2) Treat others how you want to be treated, but be especially kind to your friends..this was far before I even knew what our Lord had said...

3) I also realized that if you hit a dog long enough...even if it was just for fun, that they would snap at you even if you weren't teasing them any more.

Be careful with what you do to others. Your actions have consequences.

Luke 6:31
Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.