Black Men and Dogs

Recently in an essay on National Public Radio, journalist Kevin Blackistone suggested that the actions of Michael Vick should not color our views of black men and their dogs. The piece is good and worth your time of reading and/or listening to. You can do so by clicking here. However, while I enjoyed listening to the essay, I was most intrigue by his last paragraph. He concluded his essay with these words:

"I'm not necessarily a religious man, but I do believe in much of the wisdom from the good book, like Proverbs 12:10. It says: "A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel."

The way he states this is interesting to me because I am currently putting together my sermon for this coming Sunday on the final words of Matthew 7. These are the summary words following our Lord's Sermon on the Mount. They state:

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes (Matt. 7:28-29).

The people were astonished and amazed at our Lord's words. Isn't it interesting that people like Mr. Blackistone are still amazed and astonished at the truth of Scripture, but do not seem to be amazed at the God who authors those Scriptures? I appreciate the fact that Mr. Blackistone recognizes the truth when he reads it, and apparently believes that the Word of God has some authority. Unfortunately, he is not "religious" enough to submit to the authority behind the Word of God. And thus, he believes in "much" of the wisdom of the good book. Being in impressed with the truth is one thing. Trusting in the God of truth is another.

Yes, it is true that cruelty to our animals is a sin. And it is true that black men do have a good history with their dogs. This is because even a dog knows who his lord is. Do you Mr. Blackistone? I wonder, do we?