One of those tertiary topics that see much debate is how God views animals and our relationship to them. What ever the function of the animals are in the lives of humans whether it be for farm work, police or military work, domestic pet, entertainment (think zoos, animal actors, etc.) or for food God regards all of His creation as valuable. As children of God we must ask ourselves, “to what extent are we to view the value of animals?” and understand the distinction between the value of animals and the value of human beings.
Proverbs 12:10 tells us “Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast,but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.”
According to BibleRef.com’s summary of Proverbs 12:10…
“This verse sets an important perspective for a biblical view of animal rights. While God created all animals for the use of mankind (Genesis 1:28; 9:3), He also expects us to respect and care for those resources, not to abuse them. In fact, Solomon connects a person’s righteousness to their treatment of animals. The point is not that those who love God must be vegetarians nor is this giving an idolized sense of animal values. The message is that a godly perspective on creation naturally leads to respect for all creatures. The God-fearing (Proverbs 1:7) person will treat them kindly, feed them properly, and care for them when they hurt.” (Source: https://www.bibleref.com/Proverbs/12/Proverbs-12-10.html)
I believe that God tells us through His Word to care for our animals for a few reasons:
- God is He perfectly righteous and perfectly loves; not only that, God is Holy thus God IS Righteouness and God IS Love. And so, God perfectly loves all His creation, all who have souls, at least with a common Grace (more on that an upcoming article of this blog), and expects people who have animals to take seriously the responsibility of stewarding their lives well.
- The way we care for and protect God’s creation, including animals, reflects the character of Jesus Christ, The Good Shepherd (see Psalm 23:2, John 10:3-14, Matthew 9:36, Isaiah 40:11, and 1 Peter 2:25)
Seven years ago, I adopted my Golden Retriever-Labrador, whom we sadly had to put down in August 2024 (he was 12 years old; check out my testimony about my dog here). He was my best friend and after I married my husband he was a family member who brought us so much joy, reminded us of of Christ’s love everyday, and he was extremely loved and well taken care of. I remember refusing to rehome him when I was going through financial hardship and finding a safe and affordable place for my dog and I to live took much longer than well-meaning people were comfortable with because I was committed to being my dog’s forever home in this life. I often would ration my rice so that I ate less with my meals so that there was enough rice to bulk up his kibble. When my dog’s tumor showed up, my husband spent thousands of dollars just so that his quality of life can be maintained while we enjoyed extra time with him before his condition started to deteriorate. No one can ever tell me that we didn’t love and respect that dog with the same fierce loyalty he has shown us. And yet, I can say with conviction that an animal’s life does not have the same value as a human’s life. There is, of course, some gray area and God gave us a brain to discern the best we can according to the situation. For example, let’s say a burglar came onto my property and decided to attack someone in my household. At that time, if we had a dog that would attack the intruder in my home my husband and I would not think twice about neutralizing that threat in order to protect our dog, our lives and our property. As those who were given dominion over animals (see Genesis 1:26) we are to protect them as a shepherd looks out for His sheep. I got on a little tangeant, so let me bring us back. In Genesis 1:20-25 we see that God created animals and said it was “good” just as He did when He created Man. This tells us that all of God’s creation are valuable in God’s eyes.
I like how The Gospel Coalition writer, William Boekestein, puts it:
“Given their extravagant diversity, intricacy, intelligence, and abilities, God clearly made animals to be more than servants for humans. He made them as expressions of his beauty and goodness. Animals praise their Maker: “Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures . . . beasts and all livestock, creeping things and flying birds!” [Psalm 148:7-10]. We should not view animals as mere commodities. While God’s image makes humans distinct, the truth that animals are created by God, cared for by God, and invited to praise God should make clear they are endowed with value.” (Source: Why Should We Care About Animals? William Boekestein. The Gospel Coalition. 2024)
Although we are to regard all of God’s creation with respect, dignity, and affection we have to be careful not to place the value of animals over humans. How many times have you heard to phrase, “I like animals more than people” or watching a movie or TV show and dropping to your knees in tears when an animal gets hurt but not batting an eye when a person is hurt? I’ve been guilty of the latter many times and often laugh at myself for the silliness of it. There are several verses that warn the Christian against idols of the heart. Yes, we are to love and care for animals with great respect for their lives and well-being, but preferring animals over people, putting an animal’s value above a human falls under the category of idols of the heart because only human beings are made in the image of God, Imago Dei (see Genesis 1:26-27). There is an exclusive dignity and worth reserved for humans, not because we are any “better” than others among God’s creation (animals, angels, etc) but simply because of the fact that God designed it and ordained it to be so in His perfect wisdom and sovereignty. God is the Holy King of The Universe — He has every right to determine the order of things. Luke 12:7 teaches us that human beings do have more value than animals. But thanks be to God that despite animals being affected by Man’s original sin, bringing violence, pain and death (see Ecclesiastes 3:19) because of Jesus Christ — The Better Adam — His life, death, and resurrection assures us that we can be confident that animals, along with all creation including us, will also be restored back to glory as they were in the time before The Fall (see Romans 8:22).
Here are some other articles that, in my opinion, presents compelling views on the topic of God and how our care of animals is honoring of God’s heart:
For God So Loved The Animals. Chad Bird. 1517
What Does The Bible Teach About Animals? Daniel Hoffman. Knowing Scripture
Why Do They Care About Dogs More Than People? Erik Raymond. The Gospel Coalition
Why We Should Care About Animals? William Boekestein. The Gospel Coalition
Pets Aren’t People. Karen Swallow Prior. The Gospel Coalition