It’s Right There

Theology is a deeply complex intellectual and spiritual pursuit. We may never be able to answer the question, “what does it truly mean to be good?”

But we’ve got plenty of answers to the question, “what does it mean to be bad?”

Today’s example: Not picking up after your dog when the bag box is RIGHT THERE. Like, not just in line of sight, EIGHT FEET AWAY.

We live in a society. If you never want to clean up after your dog again, go look to rent or purchase property surrounded by woods. It’s still bad for the environment to just leave it lying there, but it will primarily be affecting you, so go nuts.

But if you live in a community with other people, you gotta clean up after your dog. You have to do it, even if it’s on land that doesn’t belong to any neighbor in particular. And you really have to do it if it does belong to a neighbor!

No one is perfect. We all have terrible days. Flus come and go, pouring rainstorms happen, you fall and cut yourself and need to get back home. You may not have time to double back for a bag from the nearest station. With that in mind, I say that once a year, if you are really struggling, you can justify not picking up after your dog right away. You can go lie down or bandage up or whatever it may be. But if it’s still there the next time you pass by, you need to clean it up. That’s just common sense.

And hey, if you only clean up after your dog when people are watching, you’re not banking any good karma for that! If the only thing making you put forth the minimum effort is social shame, you’re not working up the credit to be a lousy person later. Just clean up! It’s not that hard!

But if the box is almost literally within arms’ reach and you don’t clean up after your dog, you are a terrible sinner, and I have it on good authority that the higher power of your choosing is considering taking your dog and giving it to a better owner and/or family. So, something to consider.