Dog lessons on being lesser

A couple friends of mine have a young chocolate lab named Teague.  They've done very well at training the dog.  He is a very well-mannered and behaved dog.  I remember a moment at a dog park in the Santa Clara area when Teague was playing with a smaller dog.  Teague didn't realize how much bigger he was, and he simply overpowered the other dog.  He was only playing, but because of his size and power, the other dog had no chance.  So my friend grabbed Teague and laid him out belly up and placed the smaller dog over him, allowing the smaller dog to pin Teague down.  From that moment, the smaller dog was able to continue playing with Teague. Reflecting on that moment has taught me a great lesson in earning trust from people.  In order to earn the trust of people, you often have to place yourself "below" them.  You have to removed the level of threat that you otherwise bring.  You humble yourself and place yourself below them and even serve them.  It is in this posture of relationship that people come to trust you.

Even Jesus, our greatest example of trust, humility, relationship, and service did not come to be served by the culture but to serve the culture.  God emptied himself, laid himself down and allowed smaller people to trample on top of him and pin him down.  he is ultimately worthy of being trusted.

Once you can be trusted, you can speak the gospel to ANYONE no matter what culture they're from.