My uncle had two dogs, Tootsie and Emba. They were farm dogs so he needed them to sit, to stay, and to come when called, among other things. To teach them to sit, he would say “sit” and push them into a sitting position and give them a treat.

The first dog, Tootsie, learned right away and got many treats. When my uncle said “sit,” she sat and was rewarded. The second dog, Emba, didn’t get it. My uncle said “sit,” and she just stood there wagging and panting expectantly, waiting for a treat that never came. Tootsie rolled her eyes.

Emba also got into a lot of trouble that Tootsie avoided. Emba kept falling into the same hole, getting scraped by the same barbed wire fence, and getting sick on road kill again and again. Tootsie learned to avoid these things after one mistake.

There was an electric fence on the farm. Tootsie avoided it carefully after one zap. Let’s just say Emba never seemed to understand why she kept getting zapped.

A smart dog learns quickly, paying careful attention to her master. But a dog that isn’t gifted with intelligence makes the same poor choices over and over, never understanding, oblivious to her master’s instruction.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.” (Proverbs‬ ‭1‬:‭7,‬ ‭CSB)‬‬

And so it is with us humans as well. God is the source of true wisdom. If I want to have success and escape avoidable pitfalls, I need to pay careful attention to my Lord.

Dear God, thank you for making your wisdom so readily available to me. I want to be like Tootsie, not like Emba. Open my eyes to your wise way and give me the strength to obey. Teach me how to avoid stupid choices, even when they appear convenient or enticing.