Loving The Critters

Loving the Critters

Bible Blast: Read Matthew 10:29-31

God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” Genesis 1:26

When I look into the eyes of any animal, it’s hard for me to understand how anyone could be cruel to it. Unfortunately, it happens all the time. People have done some really horrible things to all kinds of animals.

In Virginia a man had thirty horses taken from him because he simply was not feeding them. And as if that wasn’t terrible enough, some of those beautiful animals were pregnant! The veterinarians who are helping nurse the horses back to health said many of the patients weighed two hundred pounds less than a healthy weight for a horse. You could almost count the animals’ rib bones because they were so thin and malnourished.

This story of the starved horses may have made you feel really sad, but sometimes it’s good to feel sad. I know that God is sad when animals are treated with such meanness. Our focus verse today reminds me that God made me and he made the animals, and it’s part of my job to help take care of them.

As Christians, we can find it hard to know what our view of animals should be. Jesus gives us a little teaching on that in Matthew 10:29-31. He talks about sparrows, which are little birds that are very common. He said that “not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.” God cares about those little unfancy birds. Then it says, “Don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows!” It’s good and godly to take care of animals, but we need to also keep in mind that humans are more valuable to God than animals.

To sum it all up, when you love animals, you’re loving God’s creation. But, if you value animals more than you value humans, that’s not God’s plan. So go ahead and save the whales, the rainforests, and the polar bears, but don’t make protecting animals more important than saving humans.

Girl Gab: Do you have a special place in your heart for animals? If you could plaster your bedroom walls with posters of an animal, what animal would you choose? What animal would your mom choose? Take some time to pray that people would not be cruel to animals. Then take some time and pray for the people you know who aren’t saved.