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Madison Iszler
Good News
Animal cruelty may not be
something that you notice , or that
affects your daily life; that is, until
commercials for the Humane Soci-
ety appear on your television screen
andyouclicktoanotherchannel due
tothegraphiccontent.Or,whenyou
seehorrific imagesof abuseandneg-
lect on the internet, youmaywince,
but you continue scrolling without
giving the issuemuch thought.Why
wouldGodhavecommandedNoah
to bring multiple kinds of animals
into the ark if He didn’t care about
them? If God cares about animals,
doesn’t thatmeanwe shouldaswell?
Although most people react em-
phaticallywhen it comes tophysical,
verbal and sexual abuse of humans,
they are strangely silent when it
comes to animal abuse.
WhyYouShouldCare
First of all, the Bible speaks
directly against animal abuse and
cruelty. God made us stewards of
His creation, and this includes
animals (Genesis1:26).According to
theBible, animals clearlyhaveworth
(see Exodus 21:35-22:14 and
Deuteronomy 25). Disrespecting
and abusing God’s creation shows
direct disrespect to Him and
disobedience by not obeying His
commands. Proverbs 12:10 says, “A
righteousmancares for theneedsof
his animal, but thekindest actsof the
wicked are cruel,” Other verses
commanded God’s people to help
others when their donkey or ox
collapsed under a heavy burden
(Exodus 23:5, Deuteronomy 22:4).
God calls us to pay attention to
animals: “Be sure you know the
conditionof your flocks, givecareful
attention to your herds” (Proverbs
27:23).God tell us in1Corinthians1
thatHeuses theweaker thingsof the
earthtoshame the strong. Examples
of this are found in Proverbs 6:6-8
whereGod tells us to learn fromthe
hardworking ways of the ant, and
also in Job12:7-10whereweare told
to learn from the wise actions of
animals. God uses animals’
dependenceuponus to illustrateour
dependence upon Him. Secondly,
Animal abuse is degrading to
humanity. God gave humans are
dominionover theanimals, andgave
us intelligence and abilities that put
is in a position of power over them.
When people abuse animals, they
become animals themselves. As
Christians, we are called to show
compassion.Our superiority should
motivate us to, as Christian author
C.S. Lewis articulates, “…prove
ourselves better than the beasts
precisely
by
the
fact
of
acknowledging duties to them
which they do not acknowledge to
us.”
Don’t Sit on theSidelines
When witnessing injustices
against animals, we may often
choose to ignore it if it does not
directly affect us, because we think
someone else will speak up or do
somethingabout it, orbecausewe’re
too focused on ourselves to really
care. Witnessing sin and not doing
anything about it is just as bad as
committing the sinourselves. Bynot
caring for God’s creation, we’re
hurting Him. There are many
practical ways you can help.
1) Speak up!
Several types of
blatant animal cruelty andabuse are
dog and cock fighting, puppy mills,
circus practices and laboratory
experimentation on animals. If you
witness an animal being abused in
any way, notify the authorities.
Abuse also comes inmany forms; it
doesn’t just mean physically
wounding or killing an animal.
Abuse also includes neglect and
mistreatment, such as inhumane
animal living conditions, starvation,
inadequate care, abandonment and
more. Refuse to turn a blind eye
whenyouseeanimals inharm’sway.
2)Vote:
forpoliticians andcan-
didateswho support animal protec-
tion legislation; consider contacting
current politicians about animal
protection legislation and why they
should support it. While animal
abuse is illegal by federal mandate,
under the U.S. AnimalWelfare Act,
further laws can be enacted to en-
sure that animals are treated ethi-
cally.
3) Teach and be a role model
to your children
Educate themon
being good stewards of God’s
creation. According to petside.com,
earlyactsof violenceagainst animals
can be an indicator of violence
toward people later in life.
4) Volunteer or donate to
local organizations.
Petfinder.com
is a great online resource that can
help you find local animal-friendly
organizations where you can
volunteer or even adopt a pet in
need of a home. For volunteering
locally, you can check out the
Humane Society, Paws South
Florida Rescue, Inc, Andrya’s
Animal House, South Florida
S.P.C.A., Sunset Lakes Animal
Clinic, among many others. If you
are interested in adopting an animal
thatwas avictimof abuse, checkout
theHumane Society andHollydogs
Greyhound Adoption, among
others.
You can make a difference.
Someday, we will be judged by
Christ and will have to give an
account for the way we treated
His creation, including animals.
As
we
recognize
Christ’s
sovereignty and reign over all
things great and small, we should
speak and act against animal
cruelty and seek to protect His
creatures.
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SOCIAL INJUSTICE
Do Animals Have Rights?
August 2012
11
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