A friend of mine at school was telling me the other day how she is a magnet for animals: the lost, the hurt, the rejected....she just seems to want them all. She's not the only one. For those of you who know us, you know that I am constantly begging Chris for a slew of animals.
Goats- so they can eat the grass and he won't have to cut it. Duh!
Horses- so we can ride and love them
Cows- I love their sweet eyelashes and I want to raise one from a calf
Otters- yes, I realize that this is bizarre. I can't resist their cute, whiskered faces. All I'd need is a pond out back....not too much to ask, right?!
Ducks- they would share the otters' pond, of course.
The point is, I am very similar to my friend. I will donate to the ASPCA and Humane Society in hopes of helping animals. I will pick up strays and beg to give them a home. I will cry when it appears that animals are hurt on a movie. I will call my trooper of a husband at 7:00 am and ask him to drive and move the turtle that I saw in the road on my way to work. (And yes, he will sometimes agree to it. That's why I love him.) I used to cry when my mom would kill bugs in our house, insisting instead that she place them outside. And I still encourage my kids at school to take them outdoors instead of squishing them. It gets extreme, but my line of thinking is this:
God has created EVERYTHING on earth and we are to respect it. He has created all of mankind, but also all of the little creatures. In the old testament, he does place us in charge of animals and grants us the right the eat some of them. He does not grant us the right to take advantage of them or mistreat them.
Yes, my husband is a deer hunter. I realize that this might seem a bit hypocritical for me to be preaching about caring for animals while he shoots them. He has not been hunting in quite a while, which I am silently celebrating :) But I don't tell him not to go, because I know it's something that HE enjoys. I even went with him once in our early dating days. I'm not gonna lie: I loved getting up early and going to get coffee and breakfast at Hardee's while it was still dark outside. I LOVED spending the day with him and watching him all decked out in camo. And I loved putting on my own snake boots that he purchased for me (ahh, redneck love!) and holding a gun to see what it felt like. I also had a realization while I was with him: Chris is respectful of animals and follows the rules when it comes to hunting. He does nothing illegally and He obeys God by bringing home the meat to eat. There are no deer head trophies in our home, and he doesn't flaunt the fact that he is able to kill something. He hates to see animals suffer too, which is why I know that he hunts for the right reasons.
So back to the disturbing image that I came across while drinking coffee this morning. Read the following:
As that dog lay on the ground fighting for air, Quanis Phillips grabbed its front legs and Michael Vick grabbed its hind legs. They swung the dog over their heads like a jump rope then slammed it to the ground. The first impact didn’t kill it. So Phillips and Vick slammed it again. The two men kept at it, alternating back and forth, pounding the creature against the ground, until at last, the little red dog was dead."- This is who Nike chooses to support and endorse. So I'm done supporting them. I can't even imagine shaking a hand with so much blood on it, much less putting money in it.See More
Um, yeah. I can't express the anger and disgust that enters my mind when I read this. I know that as a believer I'm not supposed to hate. But my dislike for Vick and those who dogfight comes mighty close to hatred. Karma can be a wicked thing; Revenge is left up to God and I hope that one day these evil people encounter a fiery storm of judgment from Him. Thankfully, the Lord also reminds me that He knows everyone's heart. Perhaps Michael Vick has realized the error of his ways and has asked for forgiveness. I have no right to judge him or anyone else, but that doesn't erase the fact that he commited the unspeakable to other living creatures. I don't want to support or like him, and I certainly do not like the fact that he injured countless defenseless animals and is allowed to play football again. Our society is so twisted, but that's a whole 'nother blog.
Here is my suggestion: If you beat a dog till it's death, the same will be done to you. If you choose to electrocute an animal, purposely injure an animal, or throw an animal out of a moving vehicle, the same will be done to you. When you cause unimaginable pain and do so intentionally to something so innocent, the same will be done to you. And by the way, when you take pleasure in hurting one of God's defenseless creations, doesn't that make you a bit psychotic?! In my opinion, you have some big issues.
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