Editorial

A Lesson From Winston – Deon Unthank

Deon Unthank, President, AbsolutelyGospel.com
Deon Unthank, President, AbsolutelyGospel.com

I’ve had dogs most all my life. I’ve had Welch Corgis, Cocker Spaniels, a couple of mutts, four German Shepherds, a Cocka-poo, and lastly a Shepherd-boxer mix.

I guess you could definitely say that I’m a dog person. You could probably even describe me as a big dog person, meaning I like big dogs. There is one thing that is common amongst dogs, be they large or small. No matter the size, every dog I have ever owned or even seen has this one thing that we can learn from them.

I just got my Winston, Shepherd-boxer back after nearly four years of having someone else keep him for me. He’s older now, but so am I, and things are beginning to get back to the way they used to be between me and him.

The one thing that all dogs do, and as I am walking my dog three or four times a day, is that no matter how short the leash they are on, they all go to the farthest spot that the leash will allow them to go. If I use a two foot leash, he is out two feet. If I use a sixteen foot least, he is out sixteen feet from me. Since this is a natural thing for dogs, I have to see if there is a similar trait with humans.

If my dog is walking two feet from me, I still have a lot of control over him. If a car comes too close, I can jerk him close to me and clear of the oncoming car. If he is sixteen feet away from me, I can’t protect him and keep him away from harm nearly as well. Now I realize that dogs go to the end of their leash, because their mind is centered on what their nose is smelling. There is a whole interesting world in that grass they are smelling. A whole world of temptations to get them in trouble. They can get follow that scent of another dog and end up with things that another dog has to offer that may not be good for them. They can pick up fleas that other dogs have left behind, just as one example.

Let me note that both dogs and humans have masters. A dogs owner is his master. He relies on his master for food, shelter, and affection. Humans have one master and He is our God. We rely on Him to supply us with our necessities much like the dog does with us. Now I notice that we as humans seem to want to walk as far away from God as can, but still stay somewhat close to Him. We don’t seem to realize that the closer we walk to God the better He can protect us. The farther away we get from Him, the harder it is for Him to get our attention.

I cannot list the number of times that I have made my life much harder than it needed to be, because I moved far enough away from God that I couldn’t hear Him. Just like my dog, I get interested in things that take my attention off what keeps me close to my Master.

Let me encourage you to examine where you are on your spiritual leash. Are you walking close to your Master, or are you trying to hold to your Master’s hand, yet walk as far away from Him and walk as close to this world as you can?

Absolutely Gospel Music

Formed over 25 years ago by Founders Deon & Susan Unthank originally as SoGospelNews.com. SoGospelNews.com became the most viewed Southern Gospel website on the Internet with over 1 million hits per month. The website is based out of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. In April 2010, SoGospelNews changed its name to AbsolutelyGospel.com, allowing the site to cover all genres of gospel music. Before the passing of founder Deon Unthank in December 17, 2022, he arranged the sale of the site to a dear family friend, Bev McCann. The site is now run by Bev McCann and the Nashville 37201 media group.
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