Through the years, we have had numerous pets come through our home. We’ve had hamsters, crabs, fish, a parakeet, rabbits, cats, dogs, and ducks. There have even been the seasonal finds that made their way to the glass aquariums like wooly worms, crawdads, praying mantises, and few other oddities. Finally, our menagerie has been reduced to one dog (inside) and a bunch of cats (outside).
What kind of a zoo are you running? If you have children at home, you know what I’m asking. Kids have a unique way of rescuing any four or two-legged stray and bringing it home, playing on the sympathetic heartstrings of the parents.
For all who have opened their doors to the critters of the world, today is National Pet Day. Colleen Paige founded this day in 2005. Though she is an American, a Canadian website dubs her the “exceptional celebrity pet and lifestyle expert, who devotes her entire life in making a difference in the world of pets. She is an animal behaviorist, photographer, pet-friendly interior designer, dog trainer, writer and the author of the bestseller The Good Behavior Book for Dogs… She is also the founder of worldwide trending pet holidays.1
You can learn a lot about a person from the pet they choose and, how they treat that pet. Though the western concept of “pets” isn’t necessarily in the Bible, people definitely had animals. Those animals served a purpose, whether it was to supply milk or meat, pull a plow or cart, supply protection, or for transportation.
From the beginning of creation, man was given dominion over the animals. Man was never supposed to treat animals with cruelty. We know that God established the Sabbath and man was to lay down his work. But did you realize that the Sabbath was also intended for the animals? Exodus 23:12 says, “Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.”
There was no right to treat your enemy’s animals poorly, either. Exodus 23:4-5 says, “If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. (5) If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.”
The summation of this is found in Proverbs 12:10. “A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.” Though we have dominion over the animals, the righteous will treat their “beasts” with kindness and compassion. Those who would beat or neglect an animal are put into the category of the wicked.
Pets are NOT humans. They are NOT your children or grandchildren. They are NOT to be worshipped. Jesus didn’t die on the cross so that they could go to Heaven someday. But that doesn’t mean they should be treated poorly. Those pets that God has allowed us to have can provide companionship and they teach us a lot about unconditional love.
If you have a pet, maybe give them a little treat and wish them a Happy Pet Day!
1https://www.canadapetcare.com/blog/colleen-paige-legendary-pet-lifestyle-expert/
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