What role do animals play in this world? Probably every person who reads this question will have a different answer. Depending on the species, every animal has a varying role here on earth. Some animals---such as dogs and cats---make good pets and provide companionship. Some animals are a source of food. Some animals are hunted for sport or trained to do tricks for our own entertainment. The animal kingdom is undoubtedly an important factor in God's Creation. Without animals, humanity wouldn't thrive quite as well as it has. And if you're a person who enjoys having pets, you likely can imagine life would be boring without them.
Just how important, though, are animals? What is God's view on their existence? The answer seems obvious; they must be awfully significant, if He created them before He created Adam! Plus, He saved them right along with Noah and his family during the Flood. That must mean God considers them pretty innocent, right? There are many people who would even go so far as to say animals are more innocent than people. Animals are loving, after all. Animals don't hurt our feelings or say unkind things. Because of their aura of innocence, people often admit they would choose to save the life of an animal before saving the life of a human. There are countless individuals who form organizations to protect the rights of animals. While I see no problem in this and believe that no living creature should be purposely tortured or abused, I also believe there should be boundaries in how much we exalt animals. For example, there was an acquaintence of mine who said she believed animals were just as important as humans; i.e., she believed that the murder of an animal was just as sinful as the murder of a human being. How can this be true, though? Does God honestly think animals are at the same rate of significance as humans? Taking evidence from the Bible, this is quite simply implausible. While animals do seem innocent, the reason is because they have no sense of morals. No sense of right and wrong. They function solely by instinct, and as much as we might like to think they do, animals don't have souls. They don't choose the path of Christianity or the path of Satan. They don't ask God for forgiveness of their sins or feel remorse when they kill another living creature. This may make them innocent, but it doesn't mean their behavior is always something to admire.
Often when people hear the statement that homosexuality is a sin, they argue that homosexuality is apparent in many species of the animal kingdom, and believe this means homosexual behavior in humans must be natural as well. However, animals can also be seen eating their prey alive and even their own young. Does this mean we should state these actions as being natural in the human kingdom as well? From God's viewpoint, I think not. God says in Genesis 1:26-27: “'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." This proves that during Creation, God intended for humans to rule over animals, and that while it's our job to care for them, it isn't our job to compare our lifestyles to theirs. We were made in God's image---animals weren't. We were not intended to behave like they do.
My fellow Christian friends, I hope this has explained why God considers us to be more important than any animal on earth, and that just because something is natural in an animal's lifestyle, doesn't make it natural in ours as well. Humans have souls and are blessed with a life where we have the option to make either right choices or wrong ones. Animals don't have decisions to make, and while it is unknown for sure whether our beloved pets will be in Heaven after death, it IS known that God will always love us since we were created in His image, and He will always want us to put our lives before the life of any animal. May we remember this for all the days to come. God bless.
Danielle Forrester
