Dog Bitten…For Nothing – Church A

I can’t say that I’ve actually been dog bitten…I’ve been chased a time or two, in fact, enough to make me cautious around certain dogs. However, if I ever am bitten by a dog, it had better be for something, and NOT for nothing.

During the civil rights movements of the 60s, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was involved in a significant turning point in his efforts to change the world, in Birmingham, Alabama. In fact, the city’s law enforcement agents were resorting to tactics that had never been used before. Most notably, the use of K-9 units. By this point in the protests, the jails were full, crowd control by the use of water cannons was clearly not enough, and finally, it was time to bring the German shepherd police dogs in!

This was a tipping point of sorts. The morning following this particular protest, an image of a dog attacking a young teen was plastered on the front page of every major newspaper in the country! Dr. King said something that really struck me. He said: “When I was growing up, I was dog bitten…for nothing. So I don’t mind being bitten by a dog for standing up for freedom!”

Wow! What a powerful statement! There will certainly be risks in anything significant we attempt to do in life. However, there’s always a chance that even an innocent bystander will be bitten! (Read Malcolm Gladwell’s book, “David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, And The Art Of Battling Giants”, specifically chapter 6, to learn more about this concept). So, if you’re gonna get bitten, at least get bitten trying to change the world! If you’re gonna get bitten today, then I pray for you, that the stakes would be high, and that you won’t be bitten for nothing.

What is it that you’ve been reluctant to pull the trigger on and do?

What goal have you been putting off pursuing because you’re afraid you might fail?

What tough conversation have you been avoiding because you don’t know exactly how it will turn out?

What life-altering decision have you been afraid of dealing with because of the potential risk involved?

Guess what? There’s a chance you might be bitten, but just remember, if you’re gonna be dog bitten, be dog bitten for something!