Wisdom’s Journey: Proverbs 12:10

Terri GillespieWisdom’s Journey Through Proverbs

Today’s Blog: Whose Image?

TODAY’S PROVERB: A righteous person cares for the life of his animal, yet even the compassion of the wicked is cruel. Proverbs 12:10, TLV

We’ve all seen those commercials or social media videos of abused puppies, kittens, and other animals. I don’t know about you, but those images break my heart. I also noticed I feel anger toward anyone who could harm defenseless creatures.

So, today’s proverb for a long time confused me. If someone feels compassion for a helpless animal, how could that compassion directed toward a little kitty evolve into cruelty?

Then, one day, someone asked the question: How does someone risk their life to save a whale, but not do the same for an unborn child? Or worse, support the baby’s termination.

As provocative as the paragraph above may sound, it really does boil down to someone valuing an animal’s life over a human’s. Compassion at the expense of another. A superficial passion that doesn’t truly penetrate the heart.

What might that look like? It appears as the person:

  • with a faithful canine companion who watches pornography.
  • who leaves their fortune to a pet, rather than family or a worthy cause.
  • who has a multitude of pets, but won’t give their neighbors the time of day.

Perhaps this verse is also giving us insights into what our Heavenly Father views as compassion. Caring for our critters is part of our stewardship of His creation — an important part. And when He blesses us with that sweet companionship with these amazing creatures, it’s a lovely peek inside our Father’s heart.

Our caution lies in remembering that our relationship with humans is more important — even, and especially when those human relationships are so much more difficult.

We are made in the image of GOD. An animal is not. An animal is not condemned to hell because of their unatoned sin, humans are. That’s one very important reason why those sometimes frustrating, unappealing, definitely not-cute humans are more valuable in His eyes. And, aren’t we glad for that!

May our hearts have compassion for all of GOD’s creation, especially the human ones, my friends.

Proverbs 12:10 Tree of Life Version – TLV, #tlvbible, #tlvproverbs

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