WSJ Op-Ed: Our Dog, Who Art In Heaven

Wall Street Journal Op-Ed:  Our Dog, Who Art in Heaven, by  Mike Kerrigan (Hunton Andrews Kurth, Charlotte, NC):

My mini bernedoodle, Sugaree, ... welcome[s me] every weeknight when I come home from work. I haven’t split the atom, ended world hunger or even brought her a new chew toy, yet I am honored like Pompey the Great in his third Roman triumph.

This nightly greeting has two effects on me. First, it makes me want to be better, to be worthy of such love. This reflection, in turn, helps me to love God, whose perfect love never ceases to draw me out from my own imperfections, from the man I am to the man I should be.

Second, it reminds me how silly it is to think I can love too many people or anyone too much. If loving is willing the good of the other, then there is no upper limit to it. This insight helps me strive to love my neighbor and to be an instrument of peace. ...

I like to think that this life isn’t all there was for [Sugaree] ... [I]n “The Problem of Pain,” in which he made a plausible case for hounds in heaven. Lewis thought sufficient selfhood might exist in dogs and other domesticated animals that their immortality is subsumed within their master’s heavenly destiny.

For my money, though, G.K. Chesterton made the best case for dogs in heaven. In “Orthodoxy,” Chesterton proposed that perhaps the one thing too great for God to have shown us when he walked the earth was his mirth. What is more mirthful than the thought of a surprise party on heavenly move-in day where gathered guests include good ol’ Fido? And who could keep such a joyful secret but someone with infinite patience? ...

God surely has use for a creature that teaches us so much about love.

Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:

• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), Josie Shands Caron (2007-2023)
• Paul Caron (Dean, Pepperdine), One Week Later . . .
• New York Times Op-Ed, Dogs, God, And Love
• Wall Street Journal Op-Ed, Why God Created Dogs

Op-Eds by Mike Kerrigan:

• We Can All Learn About Forgiveness From Colorado Football Player Travis Hunter (Oct. 8, 2023)
• Standing Back To See Suffering More Clearly (Apr. 30, 2023)
• The Gospel Of St. George (Costanza) (Feb. 26, 2023)
• Character Counts In The Super Bowl (And In Life) (Feb. 19, 2023)
• Presence (Not Presents): The True Gift Of Christmas (Dec. 25, 2022)
• St. Thérèse's 'Little Way' To Heaven — Small Deeds Done With Great Love (Oct. 16, 2022)
• What Football Can Teach Us About Death: Fathers Are Fullbacks (Oct. 3, 2022)
• Father's Day And The Prodigal Son (June 19, 2022)
• The Blessing Of A Mother’s Love (May 8, 2022)
• What Saint Dismas Can Teach Us About Good Friday And Easter (Apr. 17, 2022)
• Love, Duty, And A Friend’s Death (Aug. 1, 2021)
• God’s Jigsaw Puzzle Needs Every Piece (July 18, 2021)
• My Mom’s Christian Lesson: ‘Offer It Up' (May 16, 2021)
• God's Mirth Sanctifies Our Laughter (Apr. 25, 2021)

Editor's Note:  If you would like to receive a weekly email each Sunday with links to the faith posts on TaxProf Blog, email me here.