We have a ‘grand dog’ who is living with us on our acreage in the desert. She belongs to our son David whose temporary backyard cramps the style of an 80 pound lab. “DD” (David’s Dog) has a habit shared by many of her canine relatives.

She barks at what other dogs bark at.

She can be laying near me as I work in the yard … hear a dog bark in the distance … and immediately take up their excitement over whatever it is that has excited them. She’s clueless as to whether they’ve seen something, smelled something or heard something. If they’re barking, she’s barking.

Kind of like many of us in this ‘share-everything-with-everybody’ culture we’re wrapped in. We applaud people and events that don’t deserve our ovation. We gush because someone around us gushed.

We’ve lost that spiritual discernment over what is important and what isn’t … over what is acceptable and what isn’t. There are people who bark over things that if we admitted it, don’t even deserve a glance, let alone a bark. When we see their stories while standing in the checkout line, we should be embarrassed, not anxious to buy the rest of the story.

If we are people of the Word, then we have a really good idea of things worthy of our accolades. The list is found in Philippians 4:8 where we are told that if something is true, noble, right, pure, lovely or admirable … it then qualifies as excellent and we are to bark at those kinds of things. Let those attributes become your ‘bark filter.’

This week don’t allow others to ghost write your life story. Write your own. And disallow anyone from telling you what it is you are to cheer and celebrate! Don’t indiscriminately begin to bark just because someone is holding up the “Applause” sign.

There are people doing the noble thing, there are lofty ideas and concepts far removed from ‘gutter culture,’ there are sacrifices being made for the good of others, there are pure, lovely and admirable deeds being done all around us.

Cheer for them! Encourage them with your support. Never applaud something that Jesus died to redeem us from.

May there be joy on your journey!

Paul Walterman