I hog hunted for 12 years and at one time had 28 hog dogs. I don’t know why I liked it so much. The wild hogs and the type of dogs that possessed enough meddle to tangle with them were both very dangerous and the swamps of south Georgia that we waded through to find hogs were full of poisonous snakes, gators, yellow flies, and red bugs, (chiggers).
The dogs would often bay the hogs up right in the middle of briars and sometimes we had to belly crawl through them with 44 magnum pistols drawn. Upon seeing us arrive, more often than not, the enraged boar would charge full steam ahead and try to use its razor sharp tusks to inflict bodily harm on me and my compatriots. I’ve shot more than one that dropped within a short step or two from reaching me and I’ve been up more than one tree trying to get away from one.
The vicious “catch” dogs that we used were generally a cross between a pit bulldog and a larger English bulldog. These ferocious dogs loved to fight hogs, or themselves, or just about anything that walked, crawled, or breathed, and would do so even to the death.
For some odd reason they seemed to refrain from attacking us, but on several occasions I’ve seen them lose control and turn on us. We caught one hog live and had it tied up and were standing around talking about the hunt when one of the hunters accidentally stepped too close to the bank of a creek and fell over backwards into the water. Upon seeing this, the dogs that had been lying around resting suddenly attacked this guy and we ended up having to shoot two or three of them in order to save his life. The poor guy was bleeding profusely and had gashes all over his arms and legs where the dogs had savagely bitten him. I have no idea why they attacked him; I assume that seeing the hunter fall and observing the splash unleashed some imbedded killer instinct deep within their brains to set them off.
It was a wacky hobby and I’m still not sure why I liked it so much. I suppose it was a continuation of the crazy violence of my youth that even after becoming a follower of Christ I needed an outlet for.
One day I gave up on hog hunting. I sold all of my dogs and haven’t been since. My wife and sons were delighted because they were afraid of my dogs, especially if they had to feed them when I went out of town on business trips. The dogs would be excited that it was feeding time and would be barking and lunging and snapping the heavy chains that confined them. Rather than approach close enough to pour the food into their pans, they would hurl the dog food at them from a distance in order to stay out of their range and then get the heck out of there as fast as they could.
I was thinking of the unpredictable nature of these dogs this morning and it reminds me of some people I know. They just seem to want to bite the hand that is trying to feed them.
I’m a big fan of the book, How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie and have read it dozens of times. Basically the gist of it is that the thing that people care the most for in life is themselves, and consequently see everything strictly from their own personal points of view, (irrespective of other’s points of view). The closer one can come to seeing things from their “eyes” and accommodating those desires, the more harmony can be obtained with them.
Thus I learned a long time ago to try my utmost to understand the other person’s point of view and where I can use that knowledge to accommodate them. Generally it works for most folks and we get along famously.
But not for everyone…
To some folks I’m like a lightning rod and polarizing to the “nth” degree. I don’t know why, but no matter what I do, some folks seem to really hate me.
I believe in being fair, friendly, and firm. In business I want to be completely fair to our valued customers, employees, and vendors, but also to our company and ourselves. I try my utmost to settle disputes in a friendly manner and I absolutely hate to burn bridges. But on occasion in order to be fair to our side too I have to be firm.
If trouble arises I try not to let foolish pride destroy me and am a good compromiser and don’t demand that everything be done exactly as I would like; just that both parties be treated in a fair manner. As a result I’ve avoided lawsuits my entire career and seem to get along with most people pretty well.
The overwhelming majority of folks will listen to reason, but on occasion there are those who refuse. They remind me of those vicious pit bulldogs that in spite of everything allow their dark instincts to prevail and they seem to just Snap – Crackle – Pop!
It’s ugly.
I used to worry myself sick about them and wonder, Why? Why? Why?
I don’t know the answer to that question any more than I know why those dogs jumped on that hunter that day, but the Bible tells us that we will not be able to achieve peace with everyone.
Our job is to try to get along as best we know how, but we must realize that it is not always possible. Sometimes your hand will get bitten even when you’re trying very hard to find peace with your neighbors.
In order to avoid the unpleasantries of my bulldogs, my wife and sons avoided them at all costs, and finally I just got rid of them altogether.
Hmmm… you might want to consider a similar strategy with some of those (pains in the you know what), that you might be dealing with right now.
Romans 12:18
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.