The Demoniac

 

The Demoniac

How we respond to people in a spontaneous moment reveals our true character. I have learned too many things about myself that prove this to be true and unfortunately they often reveal not positive characteristics but negative ones. The challenge of raising children certainly surprised me as learned that I did not do well on just a few hours of sleep in the early years. They also tested my temper and I thought I had all but dealt with that as a teenager. And of course, automobile occurrences often surprise us the most when someone cuts us off or waves that special hand signal with the middle finger.

One of those spontaneous moments happened about a month ago as a friend and I were working down near the city in the front yard of a rental property. We were minding our own business when the dog next door took off across the street to the park where a grandmother and young girl were walking. My friend knew the dog and its owner and was confident that this dog, despite it being a Pit bull, was very gentle. But that fact was unknown to the Grandmother who reacted in terror when Sparkles, the dog....really, that is its name....began jumping on them. Sparkles just wanted to play. But, again, the Grandmother didn't know that and screamed in terror. The way she responded you would think that she was going to die that very minute.

My friend and I were there in seconds and pulled Sparkles away. We tried to tell the woman that she was a gentle dog, but she told us to stop talking to her. She continued to scream, threatened to call the police and call down curses on us and the dog. I tried several times to instruct her in how to handle an oncoming dog. You probably know the drill...."Always face the dog and show it that you are not afraid and never run away." Evidently my instruction was not appreciated. The woman proclaimed loudly that she knew all about dogs. Another woman approached her who happened to be a professional dog trainer and she too was unsuccessful. After several attempts to calm her down, we left...with Sparkles. The woman continued to yell and scream for about an hour and tell as many people as she could about her 'near-death-experience'.

All that ran through my mind was that this woman was crazy. She certainly acted insane. She wouldn't listen to reason and she wouldn't receive any kind words from us. All I could conclude was that SHE'S NUTS!!! My friend on the other hand said rather contemplatively, "I wonder what pain she's experienced that would cause her to react like that?" I merely responded, "SHE'S NUTS!!!''

Later on as I debriefed the experience in my mind I began to see the wisdom and compassion of my friend's response. It reminded me of a story in the Bible where Jesus and his disciples came upon a man in whom many demons were residing. He lived among the tombs and even broke the chains that some had tried to imprison him with. The story teller doesn't tell us what the disciples said, but I know: "HE'S NUTS!" I can imagine they wanted to get as far away from him as possible. The disciples often wanted to get Jesus away because they had long and taxing days with so many people wanting Jesus' attention. But Jesus chose to engage him/them in conversation. The result was that the man was released from the demons.

It seems that compassion is a lot more effective than judgment.

So, if I could replay that moment what would I do? First, I would dispense with my 'how-to-handle-dogs' instructional. Second, speak the name of Jesus and pray that this woman's terror could be abated. Third, choose only to listen to the woman's rants and look for an opening, but if none materializes, keep my mouth shut.

That spontaneous moment revealed my judgmental attitude and my intolerance for weakness and fear. In the moment, everything was about her and her insanity. Little did I know that so much of me would be revealed as I attempted to be 'right'. I have hoped in the ensuing weeks that I would run into this woman, so that I could apologize and ask if she has recovered from her experience. And I hope that when the next opportunity arises, that I will respond in the Jesus way.