Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.
I’m convinced that Twitter has left many people smarting from wicked dog bites. Most of its ever flowing content is nothing more than a passing dog. Many, myself included, have tugged on this old passing dogs ears and gotten bit in response.
That’s the thing with grabbing a dogs ears.
You can really give yourself the impression that you’ve got this pit-bull mastered. You might even have a pretty sweet ride for a moment. But eventually he’s going to wiggle those ears free and he’s going to be ticked off enough to bite you.
With Twitter all it takes is holding down the Shift button and a strike of the @ button to convince yourself that you are significant.
But beware when you enter into a quarrel that’s not your own. You might ride it with joy for awhile but eventually your soul is going to get bitten. It might breed in your heart factionalism. Perhaps pride. Or if we’re lucky, God in His grace, will expose us for the posers that we are.
Of course this isn’t to say that there aren’t rabid dogs that ought to be grabbed by the ears and wrestled to the ground. But let’s be honest with ourselves, a good chunk of what we spend our time arguing about is nothing more significant than a passing dog. It only becomes a big deal because we were dumb enough to grab it by the ears to have a little fun or make a name for ourselves.
Next time you enter into a quarrel—even a little spat on Twitter—ask yourself whether or not it’s really a dog worth fighting*.
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*That’s not a shout-out to @MichaelVick.