Day 75 – 90 Days in Proverbs - The Animal Treatment Test
Proverbs 12:10 [ESV] Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.
I am not much of a pet person. I have had pets – everything from goldfish to gerbils to dogs and cats to rabbits and even a pig. But I haven’t had any pets for at least 15 years, in part because my husband is decidedly not a pet person and in part because I travel so much for work that it makes having a pet impractical and potentially unfair to the animal.
Our merciful Father is concerned with the life and well-being of animals. After all, He created them with carefully planned design and purpose too. Animals don’t have the potential of eternal life, but that doesn’t mean God does not care for them.
Matthew 10:29, 31 [NIV] Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care… So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Even though animals do not have a divine purpose, God gave Israel instructions for being kind to animals. For example, we find this in Deuteronomy 25:4 [ESV]: "You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.
Deuteronomy 22:4 [ESV] You shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen down by the way and ignore them. You shall help him to lift them up again.
Further, God’s instructions to the nation of Israel also included warnings to not let a contentious human relationship cause them to neglect or be cruel to animals.
Exodus 23:5 [ESV] If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.
As is so often the case, Jesus bridges the gap between instruction to Israel on the humane way to treat animals and a greater spiritual lesson for us. We see this in Matthew 12:10-12 [ESV] And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"--so that they might accuse him. He said to them, "Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."
The Word of God indicates that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she treats the animals in their care. Jesus instructs us to give even more thought to how we treat our fellow man.
Sisters, we should think about this valuation in how we treat our co-workers on the job. It should inform the decisions we make about how to treat our children and what to prioritize in their lives. It should guide how we treat our mates. We should think about it in regards to how we treat the server at that restaurant or the customers, if you are the server at the restaurant. We should think about it before telling a joke or posting a meme or spreading gossip that would hurt someone else (even if that gossip is a fact).
God cares about animals. He takes care of them and He bids us to do the same. In fact, He indicates that one can tell a lot about a person by how they treat the animals in their care.
God requires that we treat each other with loving care in every interaction and to consider the well-being of our fellow man in every decision we make, just as Jesus did.
PRAYER – Father, help me to be kind and caring toward the animals in my care. You created them to serve mankind. Even more important to You, my loving Creator, is how I treat my fellow man. Please help me to treat others with loving care, concerned for their well-being and how my every word or action could impact others for good or evil. Help me to show mercy to others as you have shown mercy to me.
Your thoughts —
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