Dr. Couch, there has been a lot in the news lately about treating animals right. What do you think?
There are several verses of Scripture about treating your animals with
kindness.
Deuteronomy 25:4 says, "You shall not muzzle the ox while he
is threshing." That is, you shall not torture him with the munchy grain
underfoot and not let him eat of it. That is, do not stop him from
eating! Christ also added that, on the Sabbath, "Which one of you shall
have … an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out?"
No righteous man would leave his animal there to suffer for even one
day! And as well, Proverbs 12:10 says, "A righteous man regards the life
of his animal; but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel." The People’s Bible comments:
"This verse might be rendered—a righteous man knows
the feelings of his animals. He gives them credit for feelings; he does
not look upon them as merely so much animated matter, but as standing in
some relation to himself, and the more responsible his ownership the
more considerate ought to be his treatment even of the animals he owns.
... Does God care for oxen? "Not a sparrow falls to the ground without
your Father," Christ said. The lions roar and seek their meat from God,
Job remarks. God cares for what He made."
I once knew a man who belonged to a "fighting
fundy" group, who thought himself extremely righteous and perfect in all
ways. But he would capture poor wild animals in a cage, such as
raccoons, and leave them there to suffer in the heat for days without
food or water, waiting for the Animal Control people to come. While he
fed his cats, he gave them no love nor removed the tortuous fleas. They
were wild without human affection and finally wandered off for attention
somewhere else. When my cats get hurt I do not want them to suffer and
rush them to the Vet. They are gifts from God and I have a
responsibility to them. That same feeling should be for people also.
Though all who belong to such a hard core
fundamental group do not mistreat their animals this way, I have seen
the coldness of so many of that ilk that I do not want to relate to
their hypocrisy. I have found also that, generally speaking, they will
not change. They judge everyone else but themselves! What disturbed me
the most about this Christian was his legalism and self-righteousness.
He would never call what he did to animals wrong. He was legalistic but
could not (or did not want to) see his own sins of cruelty. He could
never confess that he was sinning against God’s little creatures! But
interestingly, in like manner, and apart from his own immediate family,
he was also cold and icy to other people. He always appeared to be
better than other believers. And he certainly isolated himself from the
lost. They knew how he felt about them.
How one treats his animals is probably how he
will treat other people. And the reverse is true also. Lack of feelings
and the lack of ability to identify with others is the rule. Thus, there
will be little mercy for man and animal. When you are around these
folks, observe how they treat their dogs and cats! If you see cruelty
and coldness run from such! How they treat their animals is more than
likely how they will treat you.
Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch
