We all remember what was waiting for little Goldilocks when she made her way through the woods and arrived at Grandma’s house. We know who the villain is in The Three Little Pigs. Of all the animals needing a good public relations agent, the wolf ranks right in there with the neediest of them. About the only redeeming social value most of us could find for wolves is that somewhere along the way, through selective breeding, they developed into dogs.
An article in The Arizona Republic tells of a study published in the journal Science in which researchers studied patterns of DNA changes and have determined that all dogs are descended from wolves which began to be tamed 60,000 to 100,000 years ago. (A University of Arizona vertebrate paleontologist says it was more like 10,000 to 14,000 years ago.)
They tested 67 dog breeds and 162 wolves from four continents, and learned that the family tree of all dogs, from little poodles to huge elkhounds, descends from wolves. “In his genes, he’s a wolf,” they say of all dogs. I think they’re saying Fido is a wolf in dog’s clothing. When your sweet Pomeranian yips or your cute dachshund growls, it’s the wolf in him coming out. If you watch your dog, you’ll see a would-be wolf.
The Bible doesn’t have anything good to say about wolves, but it makes good use of them as teaching examples. The Old Testament speaks of officials who “are like wolves tearing their prey,” and rulers who are “evening wolves who leave nothing for the morning.” It speaks of invading war-horses which are “fiercer than wolves at dusk.”
Against this kind of Bible background, Jesus warns of false prophets who will come in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. (Anyone who gives a false Christian message is truly a cruel animal.) He spoke of sending his workers out as sheep among wolves. (Some human “wolves” have an animal-like fierceness against anything good and decent and moral.) The Apostle Paul warned that savage wolves would not spare God’s flock. (Which emphasizes our need to always be near the Good Shepherd.)
Knowing your puppy has the genes of a wolf is one thing. Knowing that some humans regard Christ and Christianity with the heart of a wolf is quite another. Jesus and Paul have warned us. Use appropriate caution!