Sunday's Message: Our Responsibility to Animals

During our Sunday service, we had the honor of hearing from Jamie Lomax who shared with us the chapter she wrote for the book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Lessons Learned from My Dog. The message was related to her story. While she focused on a lesson she learned from her dog, we discussed the responsibility God has given us for them. Below is a brief video of her reading aloud her story, followed by a copy and a recording of the sermon.

Jamie, let me just say, I really enjoyed your story. As a matter of fact, I think little Freebie showed a whole lot more courage than me, if I’d been in her situation. I mean, good night nurse, to charge someone who was a heck of a lot bigger, man, that took a lot of guts. And even though I sort of hate to admit it, personally, I think I’d have been more like Bubba, and it’s not just because I’ve become a little bit ancient. My goodness, if a guy was trying to break into our house to take revenge, and if, right as he was about to get in, Debbie swung the door open and knocked him back and shouted, “Get him, Ed!,” I can guarantee that I’m going to look at her like she’s crazy. I mean, even though over the last few years I’ve certainly gotten larger and according to my daughter, I have the ability to look intimidating or, at the very least, mad, I’ve got to tell you, I don’t see myself springing into action anytime soon...maybe after taking a nap. But if I charged out at someone all willy nilly, man, I just might break a hip. No sir, you’re probably not going to find any Nike logo in my mouth anytime soon. But that’s not what happened in the story. Clearly, based on what she did, Freebie taught us a valuable lesson about courage, didn’t she?

But of course, I think we all know our animal companions teach us a whole lot of stuff, don’t they? I mean, in addition to courage, they offer lessons in dedication and loyalty and of course, love. 

Now, that’s what animals do for us.

But you know, the relationship isn’t just a one-way street. You see, we also have a responsibility to them, one that’s grounded in the very nature of creation. And that’s what we’re going to talk about this morning. You see, for the next ten minutes or so, we’re going to look at our creation as described in the first chapter Genesis. And when we do that, I think we’re going to see that, from the very beginning, God has done three things for us that I believe should shape how we relate not just to our pets but also to all those creatures with whom we share this world. In other words, we’re going to talk about our responsibility to them.

And like I said, it’s all related to what God did for us, and I’m talking about for all people. For example, first, God created humanity and God creates us in his image. Now that’s what he’s done. And I think that’s pretty clear in Genesis one. You see, after God had already called into being light and all the stars and planets and after he’d shaped the sky and the waters and all the birds and the fish and after he’d made the dry land and the plants and all those things that creep and crawl, you see, after he’d done all this, 

Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness...”

So God created humankind in his image,

    in the image of God he created them; 

    male and female he created them. [Genesis 1:26a, 27, NRSV]

Now, that’s what it says. And even though a lot of folks take this image business and spin it in all kinds of directions, I think its fundamental meaning is actually pretty simple. I mean, even though it would be nice to believe that we’re like God and God’s like us, I really don’t think that was what God was doing here. Instead, through us, he created something to reflect his image and his presence within creation, sort of like a king might set up statues of himself all over his country, you know, to remind his subjects of his presence and authority. You see, those statues are made in the king’s image and likeness so that everyone knows that he’s in charge. And from the very beginning, I believe that’s what God created men and women to be and do. And I’ll tell you, when you think about it, maybe that explains why the Jews were so against any kind of idols, you know, graven images. You see, within creation, God isn’t reflected through anything made of wood or put on canvas. No, God’s presence is shown through the ones who were created in his image.

And I’ll tell you, I think that applies to us just like it did to those men and women whom God created at the end of the sixth day. You see, whether we like it or not, we are the carriers of God’s image; therefore, we reflect that image to the world, but not just to other people because remember they also carry the image themselves. No, we reflect it to all creation. And for that reason, I think it’s important for us to take this reflection really seriously and to develop a life-style that reflects it accurately. And even though that may seem fairly vague and open to all kinds of interpretation, as Christians, we already know about someone who was absolutely the best example of showing the world exactly who God is. And of course, I’m talking about Jesus Christ, the one whom the Apostle Paul described to the Philippians when he wrote this:

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God,

   did not regard equality with God

   as something to be exploited,

but emptied himself,

   taking the form of a slave,

   being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form,

   he humbled himself

   and became obedient to the point of death—

   even death on a cross. [Philippians 2:6-8, NRSV]

You see, the one who was both 100% God and 100% human, in other words, the person who was the definitive example of what it means to carry the image of God, man, he wasn’t arrogant, but rather he was humble. He didn’t come across as being an “it’s either my way or the highway” kind of tyrant, but rather he came as a slave. And he sure didn’t try to get as much as he could for himself, but rather he gave everything he had, including himself, for others. And in that way, he reflected God to the world. And brothers and sisters, so can we. In fact, that’s our responsibility to everything else God made.  You see, as we consider our relationship with and our responsibility to all the creatures with whom we share this world, I think it’s crucial that we recognize that God created humanity and that God creates us in his image. Now, that’s the first thing God has done. But of course, that’s not all.

Because, second, God also endowed humanity and God endows us with dominion, with authority over everything he’s made. In other words, as bearers of his image, God put us in charge when he said this:

Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” [Genesis 26, NRSV]

Now that’s what he said. We have authority. But before we assume that, by giving us dominion, God has also given us a blank check to do anything we want, we better pause for a minute and remember that doing that kind of thing would sure seem to violate what it means to carry the image of God. As a matter of fact, if we use God to understand what it means to have dominion, you know, to have authority, we might want to consider an image offered in a Psalm I bet everybody here this morning has heard at least once. And if you feel led, you can say it with me.

The Lord is my shepherd; 

I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: 

he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: 

he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 

I will fear no evil: 

for thou art with me; 

thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: 

thou anointest my head with oil; 

my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: 

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. [Psalm 23, KJV]

You see, a shepherd has dominion; he has authority over his flock, but he doesn’t use it to dominate or to exploit but rather he uses it to serve and to nurture. And I’ll tell you, when we recognize that, in the sight of God, this is what dominion is all about, these words of Jesus Christ don’t seem like a contradiction at all:

You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. [Mark 10:42b-45, CEV] 

I’m telling you, this is how we’re called to use our power. This is how we’re expected to use our authority. This is how we can exercise our dominion, because it takes real power and authority to make the choice Jesus commanded us to make. You see, as we consider our relationship with and our responsibility to “the fish of the sea, and...the birds of the air, and...the cattle, and...all the wild animals of the earth, and...every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth,” [Genesis 1:26b, NRSV] I think we need to recognize that God endowed humanity and that he endows us with dominion, with authority. And that’s the second thing that God has done. 

And third, right at the beginning, God commanded humanity and God commands us to accept who we are and to use what we’ve been given. You see, after God created us in his image and after he endowed us with dominion, according to the story in Genesis, this is what happened:

God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. [Genesis 1:28-30, NRSV]

Now this was what God commanded us to do: to be fruitful and multiply and to fill the earth and subdue it and to have dominion over all those things that he’d made. 

And you know, when you think about who we are and what we have, I think all three of these commands make a lot of sense. I mean, this is a pretty big job, isn’t it? Therefore, it’s probably not going to happen or to happen very well if we’re understaffed. We’ve got to be fruitful and multiply, at least we did back in the day. And as to this stuff about filling and subduing, well, let’s face it, the natural world can be every bit as challenging as the human world; therefore, if we’re serious about reflecting God everywhere, then we probably need to fill it and if we’re dedicated to caring for it like a good shepherd, we might have to use a little muscle to keep the flock moving toward the green grass and still waters. My goodness, as every teacher knows, sometimes even the best class needs to be gently subdued from time to time. And since we’ve been given dominion, since we’ve been given authority, since we’ve been given the power to make our world a better place for all creatures who have the breath of life, man, I think we need to roll up our sleeves and to start doing it, even if it takes time and effort and maybe even money. You see, that’s what we’ve been commanded to do. And in that way, we’re actually reflecting the nature of God. Remember, when he was telling his disciples not to worry, Jesus used this example:

Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? [Matthew 6:26-30,NRSV]

I’m telling you, this is how we can function as the image of God and this is how we can exercise the dominion we already have. You see, as we consider our relationship with and our responsibility to the world around us, I think we need to recognize that God commanded humanity and that God commands us to accept who we are and to use what we’ve been given. And that’s the third thing God has done for us.

The great tennis player, Arthur Ashe said, “True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost.” Now, that’s what he said. And for me, Freebie, the little hero, offers us a wonderful lesson as to what courage is all about. But of course, there are 101 other lessons we can learn from our dogs, and they’re all offered in one, single book, with a whole bunch more floating around in our world. And I don’t know about y’all, but personally I’m grateful. But you know, like I said, it really isn’t a one way street, because we have a responsibility to, using the words of God, “the fish of the sea, and...the birds of the air, and...the cattle, and...all the wild animals of the earth, and...every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” [Genesis 1:26b, NRSV] And this responsibility, well, I think it’s grounded in creation itself. You see, in my opinion, it’s grounded in the reality that God creates us in his image and that God endows us with dominion and that God commands us to accept who we are and to use what we’ve been given. And even though that may never cause anyone to say that we have “a Texas-sized spirit,” it may mean that, sometime in the future, we’ll hear someone pretty important say, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave.” [Matthew 25:23b, NRSV]