When God created the Earth and the world and all that is in it, man was the crowning jewel of creation. Man was created and placed on the Earth as the unique expression of divine creation. Adam was created a special creature—formed from the dust of earth. Into his nostrils was breathed the breath of life “and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). It was “not good that man should be alone” (2:18), but there was none among all the animals God created that was a suitable mate for Adam. Consequently, God took of the rib of Adam and made of it woman, the perfect mate for Adam—spiritually, emotionally, sexually, and morally.
“Environmentalists” But…
Created by God in His image, human beings are not lower than the beast of the field, nor are animals equal to humans; yet too frequently, in the corruption of the sinful heart, men and women act worse than animals!
As stewards of that which God has created, we are to appreciate His creation and take care of it. Bible-believers should be the most careful “environmentalists” of all. The passages we have quoted concerning mankind’s relationship to other created beings does not give license or justification to abuse or misuse any creature or our environment. The reality is that purveyors of evolution are the worst abusers of the environment, for they worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25).
This writer remembers how traumatic it was to give up an orphaned dog which the family raised and to which it had become attached. So we do not disparage those who enjoy their pets. Neither do we deny that pets can be—and are to many—good companions, thus serving our benefit in many ways. That was the Creator’s intent.
But they are still animals!
It is therefore a product of evolutionary foolishness when animals are accorded the same rights as people for whom Christ died. If there had been a mate for Adam among the four-legged beasts, we could conclude that there would have been no Eve.
We had recent reminders of the evolutionary influence. When the governor of Minnesota was inaugurated recently, it was reported in the news that one of his sick and dying dogs “lived long enough to see his inauguration.” Are we to gather that the dog died in a happy state of mind?
Recently one large dog “murdered” a smaller dog. The murdering canine was quickly dispatched. This troubled Jacob, the dog’s owner, who (speaking of himself) said, “We know that Jacob has it in his heart to forgive this dog. It is our belief that both dogs are in a better place, and perhaps in that existence, even they will be friends.”
Frequently one reads how someone left an inheritance to dogs or cats whose names appear as survivors in obituary columns.
To each his own. But by what authority have animals been elevated to the level of human beings? Such elevation is totally foreign to Holy Scripture and is an outgrowth of the humanistic evolutionary philosophy.
“To the divine honor and dignity of man belongs also this that the creation is subject unto him” (Stoeckhardt). That man lost this honor and dignity when sin entered into the world does not alter the reality of the relationship of man and animals in God’s creation. The fall of man into sin does not justify compounding the sin by degrading God’s redeemed people to the level of dogs, cats, or beasts of the jungle.
Enjoy your pets and appreciate that they too are gifts of God who created them. But give no quarter to evolution and evolutionists who in dumbing you down to the level of your pet, thereby belittle Christ Jesus who “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14), and in whose Person we see the glory of God and the smiling face of our Heavenly Father.