I feel we all might be doing too much preaching and not enough doing.
Back in my country we have a saying, "Sweep your own threshold." Stop looking at what everybody else is doing wrong, take care of your own mess first.
I know there are many people who work really hard at making the world a better place for animals.
But there is so much preaching going on.
Do the words fall on a fertile ground?
The social media is full of petitions. There seem to be as many petitions as there are people out there. We sign petitions telling other countries what they should be doing.
And yet we still euthanize dogs in our shelters, puppy mills always find a way to survive, dog fighting is alive and well, dogs get abused ...
Whatever happened to leading by example?
It kind of reminds me of the Christian church - everybody is preaching and nobody is listening. Why?
Because Christians live lives no different from anybody else. They are unhappy, greedy, selfish, adulterous ... they just dress up nice from time to time and preach.
There ARE some Christians who are different.
I remember our English instructor. He was a Canadian from Buffalo. I know ... don't ask, I don't know. He was a student and came to my old country to teach English.
He never said a word about his faith.
But he felt different. There was something about him. At first I thought it was because he was a Canadian (or American or whatnot). I couldn't figure it why it felt that way, it just did.
He didn't speak a word of Czech and felt pretty lonely. Because I spoke a little bit of English, we hung out a little. It was then, during our awkward conversation, when I found out that he was a Christian.
Was that making him different?
It wasn't my time then yet, but later on, that memory was part of what did lead me to faith. It was because he was a Christian and he WAS different.
If the world actually SAW some difference, I bet it would be willing to listen. As it stands, why should anybody be listening?
Let's give them a reason to listen.
Let's clean up our own act, set a good example. Then they might follow.
So I'm going to shut up now and go and do something about the mess on my own threshold.
Very, very well said! I was speaking to Jason about this just last night- how can we tell China to stop keeping dogs in tiny cages for meat/fur when we keep them in tiny cages to breed for pets? And our food- chickens, pigs, etc- are in even tinier cages and more deplorable conditions. Bravo for cleaning our own house(s US & Canada) first. Let's lead by example indeed!
ReplyDeleteThank you, I wasn't sure how the post was going to be received :-)
DeleteYep, so true! We can preach all we want, but it's not as effective as leading by example. This post does a great job showing that.
ReplyDeleteActually getting out there and taking action also helps us be more open minded and realistic, I think. It's too easy to be opinionated otherwise, at least for me.
Thank you, Lindsay.
DeleteYes, the saddest thing is when people who do nothing criticize those who are trying.
I see what you mean. I often write about my opinions on animals, but I think most of the people who read my blog are kindred spirits who feel the same way. If someone doesn't understand at all, there is usually no arguing with them... you can't win. It is better to just try to do the best that YOU can do, and hopefully inspire others to at least make small changes!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Angel. I do believe that people need to see before they can believe.
DeleteVery well said. No matter what your cause (or religion) being kind, open-minded and leading by example is always the best combination to affect change. And I love that expression "Sweep your own threshold." Just for giggles, can you write it in Czech?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kelly. This is what it looks like in Czech: "Zameť si nejdřív před vlastním prahem."
DeleteActions speak louder than words. You've touched on a very important aspect of animal welfare -- people can talk all they want (and sign petitions), but if their behavior doesn't stand up to the moral level of what they're arguing about, it's all in vain.
ReplyDeleteWhile Be the Change for Animals was founded on the premise of people wanting to do something positive for animals that wouldn't take much time - ultimately, we're all going to have to give of ourselves and put forth some serious efforts to get that threshold clean.
Thank you for blogging the change for animals,
KimT
www.btc4animals.com
You make an excellent point - leading by example is a very powerful thing!
ReplyDeleteA.J.
BtC4Animals.com