Respect the breed

Some days I run past a man walking his dog. Invariably, the dog pulls hard at the end of its leash and barks nonstop until I'm out of sight. A voice in my head asks "WHY WON'T THAT DOG SHUT UP?" Its owner mildly chastises the dog—I suppose to make me see that he cares.

What I and the owner need to realize is it's the dog's nature to pull and bark. It's a Border Collie after all, not a Saint Bernard. The dog's nature is to herd things.

Same with people who stand outside God's kingdom. They have a nature that's well-described in the Bible. We Believers did too, once.

It makes no sense to expect a Border Collie to behave like a Saint Bernard. But when a Saint Bernard acts like a Border Collie, there's a problem. Disciplined training is prescribed. If speaking of Believers, to be trained by Christ.