Why the Plight of Animals is Ours

by Beatrice Victoria Ang

God’s original design was for humans and animals to eat green plants (Gen 1:29-30). But it wasn’t until after the great flood that God “gave” the animals for people to eat, too (Gen 9:3). A textual parallelism is at play—just as God commissioned Adam in the beginning, so now he commissions Noah. But the world Adam was to rule and subdue was a perfect one. Noah’s world—the world we live in today—is still steeped in sin.

To Adam, God said: “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground (Gen 1:28).”

To Noah, God said: “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall upon the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given to your hands. Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it (Gen 9:1-3).”

The constant struggle between man and animals in a fallen world is a reality. We share a world; we fight over the same natural resources; the same rainforests and seas. Over the years, animals have been responsible for human deaths even as humans have been responsible for animal deaths. Some would have us believe that animals are “innocent” because they act on instinct and fight for survival. But God does not hold them guiltless when they kill, for He says to Noah, “And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man (Gen 9:5).”

Having said that, the struggle between man and animal does not make them equal. Man has the greater responsibility. Made in the image of God, he has the capacity to care for God’s creation in a way that goes beyond instinct. A mother bear may do all she can to protect her cubs; a lioness hunt to feed her pride. But have you ever seen them appreciate butterflies? Or grieve for the orphans of their enemies? Birds cannot name animals or list down the differences between zebra and horse. Only human beings would appreciate the trick of the chameleon, cry for the abuse of animals not their kin, and feel burdened when beasts are driven from their homes or when there is threat of their extinction. A dog may allow a motherless kitten to nurse from her for a time, but can she give an organized and wide-ranging solution to the plight of the helpless? Would she even care? I think not.

Since God gave humans stewardship and the capacity to do great good, we are responsible for how we deal with animals even in this fallen world. We answer to God. “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it (Ps. 24:1).” There are some things that God explicitly allows and some that the Bible is silent on. However, our treatment of animals where it is silent must still reflect the goodness and the character of God.

For instance, God explicitly allows us to eat animals. Genesis 9:3 affirms this. In the New Testament, Jesus declared all foods clean (Mark 7:18-19). But the focus of the permission is on eating, not on how animals are to be treated. If we think our stewardship is settled by the whole question of eating, we’ve got a serious problem.

Proverbs 12:10 (ESV) says, “Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.” The righteous knows the value of life and would not kill even an animal unnecessarily. If you think about it, billions of animals die in slaughterhouses each year. Do we eat them all? Much meat is left to spoil, but poultry and cattle are bred in large numbers under terrible conditions for the sake of profit. Perhaps we are not guilty of this ourselves, but as Christians, we should care. It is not that everybody must become vegetarians; rather, we must get the awareness out so that irresponsible slaughterhouses and breeders can be shut down if they will not treat their animals with care.

How we treat our animals speaks volumes about us. If we put them in cages but treat them poorly, then we are showing we are greedy and care more for profit than for life. If we beat them or hurt them without good reason (i.e., for food) or provocation (i.e., when they’re attacking us), we show just how little we esteem God’s creation (and, therefore, God Himself). Animals have suffered a lot on human behalf (i.e., for the removal of sin,[1] for the advancement of medicine—thus, the saving of many human lives) and God allowed it because of His great love for us.

God considers human beings to be of greater value than animals. Jesus says in Matthew 6:26, ^“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” And again in Luke 12:7, “You are worth more than many sparrows.” It is difficult to understand why God would love human beings so much in spite of the many atrocities they have perpetrated in the world, but we ought to remember that in the beginning, we were the crowning glory of God’s creation. And He has not given up on us. The day will still come, in Christ, when we will live up to the great potential for good God has intended for us. If we are grateful, we will begin by making sure we are taking care of His creation.

Question to Ponder:

1) In the Philippines, a chicken is sometimes beaten to death so that its blood will cling to the meat, creating a dish called pitpit. Since all foods are declared ‘clean,’ one is technically allowed to eat it. However, is it a practice we should encourage and continue? Do you think this is a question of eating or of animal abuse? Is there a difference between killing an animal and making it suffer before it dies?

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[1] Regarding the time of Moses, it may appear incongruous that animals were sacrificed to the Lord even as compassion for animals was expected (Deut. 25:4). But this puzzle is easily solved when we realize the purpose of the sacrifices. Scripture says, “the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Heb 9:23).” Unless blood is shed, we will not realize the horror and tragedy of sin. The sacrifices reminded people of this. But before you argue with God and say that animals don’t deserve to die for the sake of people [and you are right; God knows that], remember that God Himself, more innocent than animals themselves ever could be, died for you and me. The blood of the Son of God is infinitely more precious, though it was shed only once, than the blood of a million goats and calves. It’s not fair; it’s grace.