You CAN teach an old dog new tricks

*Photo from Snopes.com

"Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then you also can do good who are accustomed to doing evil." ~Jeremiah 13:23

The dogs in this picture are being trained for police work. They are being trained to go against their natural instinct to gobble up this fuzzy Scooby Snack. Do you ever feel like that in the Christian life? Like you have been so ruined by doing bad things and experiencing bad things and being exposed to bad things that the only thing you know how to do is bad things? And going to church and listening to a sermon feels like someone is trying to "teach an old dog new tricks?" Well, listen up because this verse is hope for you!

Read it again. Sounds confusing, doesn't it? Talk it through. The Ethiopian cannot change the color of one's skin. God made him that way. The leopard cannot change its spots. God made it that way. Then you can do good, even though you have learned to do evil. God made you that way!! Praise the Lord!

In the adage, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks," the old dog is apparently set in his ways. These "old dogs" say things like, "It's just the way I am. I can't help it." For many, it's a cop-out. For many others, it really seems this way -- helpless. If you are in the first group, think twice about how far that attitude has gotten you. If you are in the second group, consider the photo. Humans hold a higher status than animals, especially dogs. Then why would it be that these intelligent but impulsive animals can be trained not to attack this very vulnerable cat, but you can't learn to change your ways of thinking or behaving?

Jeremiah tells you that you can change! The alcoholic can do a u-turn without a DWI. The angry mother can find calm. The porn addict can walk away from the electronics and into a thriving marriage. The codependent can confess the error of her ways and be loved all the more for her identity in Christ. Are you like me? Someone kindly pointed out to me one time the error of my thinking that I thought I could change but I didn't think my accusers could. Ok, so you believe God can teach an old dog new tricks and that you weren't just born the way you are. How does this change how you see others? Were they just born nasty and corrupt, or did they learn it and participate in it like you did until it became part of who they were as a person? According to God's words in Jeremiah, there is still hope for these people.

I truly believe that. There truly is hope for everyone to change for good, but good can only come from God. That is the way we are made. We were made for God's purpose and are capable of that single purpose just like leopard cannot change its spots. It is our CHOICE to do evil like it is our CHOICE to follow good.

Yes, you can even train a dog not to chase after a flirtatious cat.