Having, Losing, and Regaining Pets, Part 2

In our last meditation we considered an example given in Scripture of a man who had such regard for his little ewe lamb that he treated it like a member of the family. When a pet is like a family member, the loss of it can be a very grievous thing. When I was growing up in Florida, we had a neighbour that had a dachshund. He dearly, and I mean dearly, loved this dog. Sadly, one day it was run over by a car and killed. This neighbour grieved over the loss of that dog until the day of his death. He never really got over it.

In the past I have been asked if there is some kind of afterlife for animals. This question is understandable. When an animal becomes a pet and is regarded like a family member, one would like to think their existence goes on somewhere else rather than just terminating altogether. The reason for this is that the animal has been loved and one does not relish the thought of being forever separated from something loved so much.

We tend to attribute human characteristics to a pet. I know in our family, my wife and daughter would sometimes carry on an imagined dialogue with one pretending to speak for the pet. But the truth is, a pet is an animal, not a human being. Death does not mean to an animal what it means to us. Animals do not think and reason like human beings. They do not possess human intelligence. In fact, Scripture refers to them as "brute beasts" (2 Peter 2:12; Jude 1:10). Note the definition of brute.

Brute - Of animals: Wanting in reason or understanding; chiefly in phrases brute beasts, the brute creation,= the 'lower animals'.

You do not reason with an animal as you reason with a human being. You can train animals to do some pretty amazing things, but you do not train them by sitting them down and explaining to them what they need to do. In order to train an animal, you have to work with his physical senses by presenting rewards and punishments until the animal learns the behaviour you want. The animal learns only through his physical senses apart from any reasoning. For example, you can train a dog to come to you in response to a certain word. You make the sound and the animal responds. The animal learns to recognize the sound of the word and to respond to it. But the animal does not know the meaning of the word. He merely recognizes the sound. When a parrot talks, he is merely making learned noises. He has no understanding of the meaning of what he is saying. This is because he is a brute beast. He has no reason or understanding. And when an animal does something like a bird building a nest or a beaver building a dam, he does so instinctively, not intelligently. This is not a learned behaviour, like a human being might learn to build a house. This is rather instinctive behaviour.

When you present a stimulus to an animal such as food, or sound, or physical affection, the animal is capable of being aware of that stimulus and responding to it. Take food as an example. One day an animal might see food and want it whereas on another day he might see it and reject it. This is not something that plants do. Plants show no awareness of objects with which they come in contact. But animals and humans do show awareness of objects around them and they are capable of responding to those objects by either desiring them or not desiring them. However,there is a difference between the awareness of animals and the awareness of humans. An animal is aware of food, but he not aware of food as food. A dog does not look at a hunk of meat and think of it as meat. He does not say to himself, "Gee, I'm hungry and that hunk of beef looks great. I think I'll have some." The animal simply feels hunger, sees and smells the meat, and eats it. But he does not see himself as a feeling, seeing, smelling, eating being as you do. He does things, but he does not understand that he does them. Being a brute beast he has no such power of reason and understanding. He is not capable of self-reflection as you are. He does not look upon his own actions and judge them as you do. He simply does or does not do things based upon his physical sensations. Although he is aware of objects and can respond to them, he is not aware that he is aware. His awareness cannot turn and examine itself. Or to put it another way, an animal possesses consciousness, but not self-consciousness. From this we conclude that an animal's awareness is strictly tied to his physical being and sensation without any rational thought or self-consciousness. Therefore, when an animal dies, when his physical being ceases to be, his awareness ceases with it.

You are a human being with a rational, understanding soul that is aware of things and is aware that he is aware. Your awareness can reflect upon your physical being and pass judgment on its desires and actions. You possess self-consciousness. The fact that you can be aware of your physical being and its functions and pass judgment upon them shows that your awareness is not strictly tied to your physical being. There is something about you that can act apart from your physical being. Therefore, your awareness will continue after your body dies. But such is not the case with animals. An animal's awareness dies with his body. And this is precisely what the Scriptures teach:

Ecclesiastes 3:20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?

When a man and a beast die, the bodies of both go back to the dust. But when a man dies, his spirit goes to God whereas the spirit of the beast goes down to the earth like his body.

Now I realize that what I am saying is probably little comfort to someone who has just lost a beloved pet. But keep in mind that an animal has no self-consciousness. He does not reflect upon himself. Therefore, when a animal is dying, he does not know he is dying. He is just dying. It is as natural for him to die as it is to breathe and eat. To be sure, he will fight to live. But he does this merely by instinct. It is not like he understands what death is and is, therefore, trying to avoid it. So death does not have the meaning to an animal that it has to you.

I realize that I have waxed somewhat philosophical today, but I trust this will make sense to you and give you a better understanding of the difference between animals and human beings. But you will notice that there is one part of this meditation that remains to be considered and that is the part about regaining pets. God willing, we shall consider that next time.

Having, Losing, and Regaining Pets, Part 1

This will be a most unusual meditation for me. I broach a subject that I do not recall ever dealing with extensively. My thoughts on this have been stirred because two souls under my pastoral care recently lost a beloved pet. One lost a dog had from childhood and another lost a cat. Both of these people were very grieved over their loss. This set me to thinking about what the Scriptures have to say about animals, particularly about animals that people make pets of. I think that at some point in my ministry I should speak to this subject, especially since the Bible has some things to say about it.

I will say at the outset that I am not a great animal lover. Growing up we did have some pets, but I do not recall ever grieving that much when we lost them. I had a parakeet - a budgie if you are Canadian - that lived about eight years. I got him for a birthday present when I was ten years old. He was a sweet little bird. I named him Pretty Boy. I regret that in later years I was not as attentive to him as I should have been. I just got busy with other things. Currently, my wife and I have no pets and we intend to keep it that way. My two oldest daughters had no great interest in pets and that was fine with us. However, my third daughter loves animals and wanted pets. But we only allowed birds, no cats or dogs! My daughter had one pet, a gray parakeet that I developed a fondness for. He was a birthday present to her. I recall going to the pet store with her to purchase a bird. This little bird was in a large cage with other parakeets. While we were looking over the selection, our little bird attached himself to the side of the cage and let me stroke his breast. When I pointed this out to my daughter, she fell for him and he became a new member of our household. His name was Sugarbaby. He loved me. When we let him out of the cage to fly about the house, he would fly to me when I walked through the room. He learned to say some things. Joan Evennou kept him for us one time and said that he laughed like me. Poor creature! Then one day he got out of the house and flew away. This happened while my daughter was at school. One of the most painful things I ever had to do was to tell my daughter that her little bird was gone. She was devastated. I can still see my baby girl wandering about the yard crying and calling out for her little bird that never came back. I remember seeing her that evening on her knees sobbing her heart out to God and remembering how happy her little bird had been. The memory of this pains me to this day. I hope I have not wearied you with this sojourn down memory lane. I just want you to know that I know something of the sorrow of losing beloved pets.

Let’s begin by defining the word pet.

Any animal that is domesticated or tamed and kept as a favourite, or treated with indulgence and fondness.

Although the word pet is not found in the Bible, pets are found, as we shall see.

Now the word animal does not occur in the A.V. 1611. In the Bible animals are called beasts, fowl, or creeping things. The general word covering all animals would be beast.

In the beginning of creation, before man’s fall into sin, none of the animals were hostile. There was no death and destruction such as came after sin entered into the world. Before the fall, no beast posed a threat to man. But with the fall man’s environment, the beasts included, became hostile.

In the beginning, all the beasts were vegetarian.

Genesis 1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

But with the fall some of the beasts became carnivores and would even kill men. Hence these words to Noah after the flood:

Genesis 9:5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.

Now a man must tame a beast if he would make a pet of him. Consider the definition of tame and a Bible verse that uses the word when speaking of beasts.

Tame – To bring (a wild animal) under the control or into the service of man; to reclaim from the wild state, to domesticate.

James 3:7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:

Scripture teaches the owner of an animal to have regard for it and its needs.

Proverbs 12:10 A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.

Deuteronomy 25:4 Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.

So if you are going to own an animal, you should take care of it. While God allows us to kill beasts for food, God does not want us to be cruel to them.

When someone owns an animal and cares for it, he often develops affection for the animal and the animal for him. Thus the animal becomes a pet. Pets have a way of becoming part of the family. There is a tender story about this in the Bible.

2 Samuel 12:1 And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:
3 But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.

I am sure some of you that own or have owned pets can relate to this story. This little lamb was “unto him as a daughter.” She became part of the family. She was a pet by definition. A pet like this little ewe lamb is something to bestow affection upon and to return affection. It has been observed that owning a pet can be therapeutic for elderly people suffering from loneliness. It gives them something to love and care for. It is a living being that can respond to the attention of its owner. A pet can be something to play with, something that brings joy. The book of Job mentions playing with a bird (Job 41:5). I know something about that. Indeed, pets can be a blessing of God. But when a pet is loved and cared for in the manner I am describing, the loss of it can be very grievous. But I will address that in another meditation, God willing.

Whatsoever Ye Do, Part 3

Today we conclude our meditation on these words of our beloved apostle Paul:

1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

We have observed how comprehensive this commandment is, extending to such ordinary things as eating and drinking. Anything we do is to be done to the glory of God, even things we do for our own maintenance and enjoyment.

Take as another example your job. The following passage makes expressly clear that the service you render to your employer should have as it ultimate aim the glory of God.

Ephesians 6:5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:
8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.

It is clear from this passage that you should perform your job with the aim of pleasing the Lord Jesus Christ rather than just pleasing your earthly boss. You are ultimately working for Christ and should do your job as unto Him. You ought to perform your job faithfully whether or not your earthly boss is watching you. If your best performance is only when the boss is looking, then you are doing your job with “eyeservice, as menpleasers.” Always bear in mind that the Lord is taking note of what you do, good or bad, whether or not your boss notices. When you do your job heartily as to the Lord, you are doing it to the glory of God.

But what about our pleasures, things we do for our own amusement? Can we engage in these to the glory of God? Take the pleasure of making love to one’s spouse as an example. Satisfying the sexual needs of one’s spouse is a duty of marriage laid down by God Himself.

1 Corinthians 7:3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.
4 The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.
5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

When you are fulfilling a duty given you by God, you can most certainly do it to the glory of God, even though it is bringing you exquisite pleasure.

But what about things like playing cards, fishing, hiking, swimming, taking vacations, watching movies, attending concerts, golfing, bowling, etc.? May these be done to the glory of God? Absolutely, they may! 1 Timothy 6:17 clearly states that it is God “who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.” So long as our pleasures do not overstep any commandment of God, then they may and ought to be received as gifts from God and enjoyed with thanksgiving. But as is the case with eating and drinking, when our pleasures become an end in themselves and we serve them instead of God, then they become a snare. Serving various pleasures was a characteristic of our past before God saved us by His grace.

Titus 3:3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

We must avoid becoming like men in the last days of whom it is written that they shall be “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:4). Pleasure it like eating and drinking in that it must be engaged in with moderation and temperance. If pleasure is carried to excess, then it will choke the word of God. The same also applies to other pursuits in life.

Luke 8:14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.

Anything we do that hinders the effect of God’s word in our lives cannot be done to the glory of God.

I trust this gives you a fair idea of how it is that “whatsoever ye do” may be done to the glory of God. I realize that much of what I have covered in this blog is matter that you have heard and read me expound on numerous occasions. But given the way in which we are bombarded in our modern world by cares and pleasures, it never hurts to be reminded that “whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

Whatsoever Ye Do, Part 2

In our last meditation we were considering these words of Paul:

1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

We observed the all-inclusiveness of this commandment. Anything we do, even those things as routine as eating or drinking, is to be done to the glory of God. Everything we do arises from our choices. We choose and, therefore, act. This verse of Scripture provides us with a grid for processing our choices and thus our actions. Ask yourself regarding any activity you are doing or considering doing: “What is my goal in what I am doing or planning to do? Whose glory and honour am I really seeking? Is this thing I am doing all about me or is it about my Lord?” In asking yourself these questions you may discover sin at work in the seemingly most harmless activities or even in religious duties.

This was the sin of the scribes and Pharisees. Their religious works were done to gain the admiration of men rather than done to the glory of God. Speaking of the scribes and Pharisees, our Lord said:

Matthew 23:5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.

Matthew 6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

In any service you perform in the cause of God, do you have hurt feelings because people are not recognizing what you do and praising you for it? If this is the case, then why are you doing it in the first place? Are you doing it to achieve recognition of men or to glorify God? The above passage assures us that if we do our religious duties to the glory of God, God will reward them whether men acknowledge them or not.

But then what about ordinary things that we do for ourselves like eating, drinking, watching a movie, going swimming, making love to our spouse, or taking a hike with a friend? How can we do these things to the glory of God? Let’s take eating and drinking as an example, since that is the example specifically mentioned in our passage.

There can be no doubt that eating and drinking is something we do for ourselves. They are necessary for our survival and they are two of the greatest pleasures we enjoy on this earth. In fact, we spend most of our waking hours during the week working so that we may eat.

Proverbs 16:26 He that laboureth laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him.

We eat food so that our body may have strength to function.

1 Samuel 28:22 Now therefore, I pray thee, hearken thou also unto the voice of thine handmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee; and eat, that thou mayest have strength, when thou goest on thy way.

And generally people enjoy eating. In fact, God gives us fruitful seasons for the purpose of “filling our hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17). Since, then, we eat and drink for ourselves, for our strength and enjoyment, how do we eat and drink to the glory of God?

First of all, we eat and drink to the glory of God when we receive our food and drink as gifts from God and give Him thanks for it.

1 Timothy 4:3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

Secondly, we receive our nourishment so that we may be strengthened thereby to serve and glorify God. This is using our food and drink to the glory of God.

The problem arises when eating and drinking becomes an end in itself. For example, there are those who will compromise truth and disobey God just to secure a means of feeding themselves. Paul speaks of such in these passages:

Romans 16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

Philippians 3:18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

People who make a god out of their belly and so order their lives to fill their belly are certainly not eating and drinking to the glory of God.

If more people were eating and drinking to the glory of God, I suspect we would see far less obesity than we see today. People who eat to the point of gluttony and drink to the point of drunkenness are not eating and drinking to the glory of God. An uncontrolled lust for food and drink has taken them over and satisfying that lust has become the end of their eating and drinking. This brings to mind the words of wise man Solomon:

Proverbs 23:20 Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:
21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

Ecclesiastes 10:17 Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!

One cannot violate these principles of wisdom to the glory of God. It is one thing to eat and drink for strength. It is another thing entirely to eat and drink to excess, to the point of its becoming damaging to one’s health and welfare. Remember, your body is not your own to do with as you please. Your body belongs to God to glorify Him with it. Therefore, “whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

I have more I wish to write about this, but I shall let this suffice for today.

Whatsoever Ye Do, Part 1

This morning I listened to part of a sermon delivered by a missionary to Quebec. The missionary was attempting to give his listeners an understanding of what sin is. He cited several passages from Scripture among which was the following:

1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

The missionary was pointing out that anything we do that is not done to the glory of God is sin. I have referenced this verse on many occasions in my own preaching. But as the missionary was dealing with it, the all-inclusiveness of the verse struck me: “whatsoever ye do, do all.” First of all, let’s define the word whatsoever. The Oxford English Dictionary equates this word with the word whatever. They mean the same thing.

Whatever- Anything at all which, anything that.

Think of anything at all which you might do, and I mean anything, then plug it into this verse realizing that you are being told to do it to the glory of God.

Now the next thing to be determined is the meaning of doing something “to the glory of God.” We refer again to the dictionary.

The Glory of God: the honour of God, considered as the final cause of creation, and as the highest moral aim of intelligent creatures.

Our verse is teaching us that anything and everything we do, is to be done to bring honour to God. Everything we do should exalt and praise God. It should promote God and His interests and not merely those of our own. And this extends right down to “whether we eat or drink.” Everything we eat or drink should be eaten or drunk to the glory of God. The glory of God should be our aim in everything we do, in the whole of our lives.

This verse was written by Paul to the church at Corinth. It sums up what the Christian life is all about. The practice of the Christian religion is not confined to those activities performed in the assemblies of the church, activities such as prayer, singing hymns, preaching and hearing sermons, giving, observing the Lord’s Supper, and washing the saints’ feet. The practice of the Christian religion extends to every area of life right down to when and what we eat or drink. Everything a Christian does should have as its aim, its goal, its end, the glory of God. As the dictionary so well states it, this is “the highest moral aim of intelligent creatures.” To do anything short of this goal is to disobey this commandment and thus to sin. Although the activity may be ever so harmless considered in itself, it is sinful to do it without regard to the glory of God. Aiming at the glory of God should determine all that we do and all that we plan to do.

All things, man included, were created for God.

Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Revelation 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Since we were created for God, it stands to reason that everything we do should be subservient to His purpose for us and thus to His honour. After all, without God we would not exist in the first place. God is the source and end of our being. Since we exist for Him, we should live for Him. This applies to every human being. But, alas, rather than doing all to the glory of God, man has sinned and turned to his own way, to live for himself rather than for his Maker. Our father Adam plunged himself and his posterity into ruin when he acted in his own interest rather than to the glory of God. Man has not aimed at the glory of God. Thus it is written:

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.

But this commandment to do all to the glory of God especially applies to God’s people, whom He has chosen and redeemed for Himself. The following passages clearly show that God has done His special work of grace in our lives so that we may live for Him.

1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

1 Corinthians 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

2 Corinthians 5:15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

Living unto himself to advance his own interests, man has sinned and continues to sin. At the root of every sin is self-interest, the aim to advance one’s own interest rather than the glory of God. On the other hand, at the root of righteousness is the aim to do all to the glory of God. Our Lord made this very powerful and searching statement:

John 7:18 He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

There is no unrighteousness in the man that is doing all to the glory of God. Such a man is a true believer, a true Christian.

I have more things to write about this. In future meditations, God willing, I shall elaborate more on how it is that we can do all things to the glory of God, even those things that we must do for ourselves like eating and drinking. But this should be sufficient to set you to thinking and paying attention to why you do the things you do.