Friday, February 18, 2011

It is Not Good For The Man to Be Alone 2: The Value of Man


In my last post, “It is Not Good For the Man to Be Alone,” I wrote about God’s goodness in providing man with domesticated animals. Dogs, cats, horses, and others serve us, but also provide companionship to us. Early in Genesis, the Lord said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18) Animals provide one source of relationship that is critical to our development and well-being. I think especially of children and how important pets can be.
In this post I want to stress that relationship with animals is like icing on the cake of life. The main “cake” of our lives depends on relationship with God and with others.

The Bible is very clear that God wants to relate to you. As we seek him, we are promised that we will find him.

Scripture also stresses our need to love others and be in right relationship with them. As we seek others we find ourselves.

Relationship with God and with others are the core of our purpose on this planet. It’s not our career or our bank balance, although these affect our relationships.

It is disturbing in this modern age that some argue that animals are on the same level of worth as people. I remember reading about Paula Stibbe, the English woman in Austria who wanted to become legal guardian of a chimpanzee. She said: "He is a colourful character with lots of energy. The least we can do for him is give him ... a future in society."1 I am sure the chimp, is colorful – but a future in society? She has fought for the same rights for the chimp that a human child would have. USA Today reported, “Some legal analysts warn of a danger in giving apes equal legal status because an animal's rights could conflict or supersede a human's rights in future court rulings.”2

God’s Word is clear regarding this issue of value. “… what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.” (Ps 8:4-9) In God’s eyes a person is infinitely more valuable than a chimp. People are crowned with glory and honor by God.

Jesus said it very clearly. “You are worth more than many sparrows.” (Matt 10:31)

So relationship is God’s plan. Relationship with God and others is at the center of what is worthwhile in life.. Relationship to animals is just underlining this fact. Icing on the cake of life.

It is not good for the man to be alone.


1 - Kate Connolly, “Court to Rule if Chimp Has Human Rights,” http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/apr/01/austria.animalwelfare (April 2007)

2 - Jeffrey Stinson, “Activists Pursue Basic Human Rights for Great Apes,” http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2008-07-15-chimp_N.htm (July 2008)

Quotes of Note ... The Invisible World

“Spiritual warfare is learning to recognize the strategies, refusing to cooperate with them, and aggressively cutting off the schemes of the devil in Jesus’ name.” Dean Sherman

“those who protest that God cannot exist because there is too much evil evident in life… Evil exists; therefore, the Creator does not. That is categorically stated… If evil exists, one must assume that good exists in order to know the difference. If good exists, one must assume that a moral law exists by which to measure good and evil. But if a moral law exists, must not one posit an ultimate source of moral law, or at least an objective basis for a moral law? By an objective basis, I mean something that is transcendingly true at all times, regardless of whether I believed it or not.” Ravi Zacharias

“But the Devil is no big threat to God’s purposes; he is not even remotely comparable in power. He has been given a limited time before his final judgment to try to prove his case, just as all other moral beings who have chosen to live in rebellion against heaven.” W.A. Pratney

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I've served since 1975 in missions. I lived overseas for about 30 years. I have a great wife and three lovely daughters. I hope you enjoy some of the thoughts. Let me know what you think.

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