Probing Proverbs 12:10 The godly care for their animals,
but the wicked are always cruel.
I turned 59 today, and as I prayed I thought about my almost 6
decades of life. God has been so kind and gracious to my family. What has
amazed me is that as I get older I see the importance of the “little” things of life. Many times, it is how we deal
with the little things that shows us our true character. When we think of what
God thinks about, we usually believe He only considers and focuses on the Big
things of life. He would never concern Himself with small issues like birds,
insects, and vegetation. Yet, Scriptures teach the exact opposite of that.
God not only loves and enjoys all His creation; He uses it as
examples to us.
When trying to help us with our anxiety concerning life He uses the
lilies of the field
Matthew 6:25–34
“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have
enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food,
and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or
harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t
you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add
a single moment to your life? “And
why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they
grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was
not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for
wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will
certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? “So don’t worry about these things,
saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things
dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all
your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live
righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “So don’t worry about
tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough
for today.
When warning us about being lazy he uses ants as examples.
Proverbs 6:6–9 Take a lesson from the ants, you
lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! Though they have no prince or
governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food
for the winter. But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake
up?
Encouraging us to seek after Him, He uses the deer.
Psalm 42:1 As the deer longs for streams of water, so I
long for you, O God.
The crown of God’s creation is man…
Psalm 8:4–8 What is man that You take thought of him, And
the son of man that You care for him?
Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with
glory and majesty! You make him to
rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, All sheep and oxen, And also the beasts
of the field, 8 The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
…And even there God is concerned with the details:
Matthew 10:30 “But
the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
God knows how many hairs we have on our head…mine is getting real easy to count!...He knows how long they are, if
their bleached or not! God is involved in all things, big and small!
Interestingly - this Proverb brings out a tremendous principle about
a window to our character. Too many look to only the Big "social" sins, while ignoring
the little things in life. However, the truth communicated here has been proven
throughout history. Those that love God scripturally care very much for the
creation God has made.
In this world we have three kinds of thinking. The first one is a
perversion of our stewardship. Almost everyone I have ever met that lifts
animal life and vegetation life over human life does not believe in the God of
the Scriptures. It has placed mankind as the slave of the environment. Trees
and animals are more important than humans! I have witnessed this mindset
personally: I once saw a nature show where a mother whale was killed on the
deck of a ship, the woman watching with me, saw when they opened the mother whale
up, there was a baby whale inside her. The woman, who I knew to be very strong
pro-choice, complained, “See they killed two whales.” I said, “No they didn’t, they
killed one whale and a fetus.” She turned bright red… because she saw the stupidity of an argument that called a human
baby “a fetus” yet an unborn whale IS a whale! I am not
saying I did not care that two whales were killed; I just find the hypocrisy
quite disturbing.
The second mindset is religiosity. Most in this mindset claim a
belief in God but they show an unbiblical attitude toward God's creation. They
have misinterpreted the fact that God has made man a steward of this world and
to have dominion over it to mean we can use it up, not caring how we destroy
it. Their attitude is to use the animals and nature of this world for their own
profit, pleasure, and purpose. No concern for the future, no understanding that
a stewardship is a “trust” and we will be
held accountable.
The third mindset believes that our God has entrusted us to oversee
the world properly. That should impact how we treat the animals and the
environment. We should enjoy this world; it’s beauty, living
in it in a wise way. When we build homes, bring out of the earth its wealth or
harvest it’s vegetation, it should be done in a responsible way. With planning
and replenishment. We should enjoy the wildlife God has made and if our
conscience allows eating meats or fish, we should harvest these animals
carefully, mercifully and use the entire animal.
What’s fascinating about this Proverb is how we treat God’s animals is a window into our heart. Cruelty will never be seen in
one that lives close to God, for they respect His creation. When a human is
cruel to an animal, domesticated or wild, it exposes a lack of honor toward God.
I have met hunters that do it right and those that do it wrong, and it shows in
their character! The little things are not important…they are VERY important, they show us our heart.
Meditation: Do you take care of the little things in your life…the details…or do you allow them to be left undone? How do
you treat those weaker than you? Do you throw trash on the ground? What is your
attitude about God’s creation? If you see an animal being abused
what do you feel? Are there certain “little” sins in your life that you seem to just ignore?
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