We live on a quiet but busy street in the original neighbourhood of our city. Once home to many of the earliest settlers working for a paper-manufacturing company, it’s now the scene of a mini-revival; people are moving here because beautiful old homes can be purchased and renovated for a fraction of the cost of a home in the Lower Mainland area of our province. One of the things I most enjoy is watching school children and teens walking to and from the two schools just down the street; the other, watching people walking their dogs.
Many people consider the Bible, including both Old and New Testaments, to be no more than a series of stringent rules or on the other extreme, mere, irrelevant theology but the pages of Scripture are teeming with practical advice. I didn’t find a lot of examples but these two references are examples of God’s instruction as to how our animal friends are to be treated.
The first, found in the Hebrew Bible known as the Torah, is Deuteronomy 25:4. Here’s how it reads in The Amplified Bible: “You shall not muzzle the ox when it treads out the grain.” In other words, don’t be so cruel as to prevent the animal from enjoying a meal while it’s working. The Apostle Paul mentions this admonition twice in the New Testament when referring to supporting someone doing the work of ministry.
Proverbs 12:10 takes another approach: “A righteous man regards the life of his animal but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.” In other words, don’t ever be guilty of cruelty to them!
I realize this is a somewhat different topic but to me it’s a confirmation of the practicality of the Bible and of what serving God is all about…living out one’s faith in every area of life.
