Chapter 8: Keep your bark tough.
I was in the park the other day with my kids. A little fuzzball dog came by and they asked permission of the owner to pet it. They were enjoying petting the puppy when it started yapping and hopping. When a dog barks, it’s to communicate something. They’re scared, they’re bored, or they see a threat. When a big dog barks, it’s usually loud and with authority. Big dogs show their strength in their physical prowess and loud bark. A little dog barks to make themselves feel bigger.
People are similar to dogs in so many ways. Some talk, complain or make as much noise as possible just to allow themselves to be noticed. There are also the strong and silent types who only talk when it’s necessary and called for. When those people finally do “bark” people take notice!
Plato said, “Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.”
If we define at “Keep your bark tough” in relation to what you say and how you say it, it would be wise to note that being tough is not being rude or coarse or unkind. Being tough would equate to knowing what, when and how to say what is necessary. As James 1:19 proclaims, “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” In other words, look and listen to the situation around you before you bark or attack. Don’t just bark to make noise, bark to convey a need.
If you interpret “Keep your bark tough” as meaning to have a thick skin, even that doesn’t mean hardening yourself off against the world. It refers to being tough when needed but always having a kind heart. Ezekiel 36:26 reads, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” In this, God is saying that all the evil and hardening of a heart that has been corrupted by sin and selfishness can be crushed and replaced by a “heart of flesh” or a heart that is soft and loving, patient and kind. Having a soft heart does not make a person weak. It makes them even stronger and tougher than someone who’s heart is hardened and who feels little.
My Dad told a story to us when we were kids of the one fistfight he ever had in school. He is, and always has been, a kind and gentle person with a generous heart. One day at school, a stray dog came into the play yard. The bullies at the school were throwing rocks at the dog and trying to scare and hurt it. My dad stood up for that poor animal by fighting those boys. The lesson of that story for us was that sometimes in life you use your words, and sometimes you need to defend yourself and others who are being treated unfairly. My dad kept his bark tough by knowing what was right and wrong and defending the truth with both his words and actions.
The true measure of a person is to know what is worth barking about and being big enough to take care of the problem. When we face adversity, do we bark, yip, and whine with no positive result, or do we do something about it? Are we able to say what needs to be said and do what needs to be done? Having tough skin means knowing what the world can bring and knowing what we can do to conquer it. Having a tough bark means saying what’s needed, and not a lot more.
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