Devotional: People or Animals?

Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O LORD. (Psalm 36:6, NLT)

How great is God? His righteousness is as high as the mountains, and His justice is as deep as the ocean depths. This righteousness/justice is an extension of His love for man and beast. The New Living Translation may be taking some liberty here, “You care for people and animals alike,” but it is getting the point right.

The word David uses signifies rescuing or saving. Yahweh rescues or saves people and animals alike. It is like when Moses was fleeing Pharaoh and came upon the seven daughters of Jethro trying to water their flock. Local shepherds had driven them away from the well, but Moses “rescued” them. He indeed did care for them and in such a way as to deliver them from their plight. I suppose he cared for and rescued them and their animals.

And that is what God is like. He cares for and rescues all His creatures which He has made. When God gave humans permission to eat animals for food, he put the fear of humans in animals as a protection (Genesis 9:2). He knew that humans would be tempted to kill animals to extinction trying to get food, overindulging at their expense.

In the opening scene of one of my all-time favorite movies, Last of the Mohicans, has the heroes hunting a deer, chasing him through the woods for some time before finally felling him, at which point they come and kneel over this magnificent creature and say, “We are sorry to kill you, brother. We do honor to your courage and speed, your strength.” Here is the perfect balance of love for people and for animals that God has.

You will know, then, the truly godly person by the care they have for both people and animals. Proverbs 12:10 says, “The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.”