28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will.
30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Value - it's an important concept, and something that is worthwhile for each of us to think about. You are so valuable to the Lord that He sent His only Son to die for you, so that you might inherit and enjoy the new life He has provided. Yes, there was certainly nothing we could do to earn God's favor, but He extended it to you anyway because of His great love. He created you for fellowship with Him - you were created as a spirit-being, with a soul that could experience life to the fullest through our Lord.
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In Genesis 1, we get a glimpse into the created intent of humanity, related to other created things and beings:
26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Harambe is dead.
Harambe is the 450-pound gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo who was shot and killed as the result of an unfortunate incident - a three-year old child had somehow made it into the ape's habitat, and zoo officials and expert observers believed the child's life was in danger. The death of the gorilla has resulted in some outrage by animal rights activists and others who believed that Harambe's death was unnecessary. It is a debate that could be helpful - or destructive.
Let's unpack several of the issues here. Frank Turek points out at CrossExamined.org that the debate about, as he puts it, "whether we really should always choose a human life over an animal life" He says that is confusing, because it "goes against our most basic understanding of our existence. But that’s where our society is today: equating the value of human life with the value of animal life."
He says the debate is indicative of two worldviews at play: the naturalistic worldview and the Christian worldview. In the naturalistic worldview, there is no God - and the natural world basically sprang into existence and developed over time. There are four basic implications he outlines: 1) There is no objective meaning to our existence. 2) There is no objective purpose of our existence. 3) There is no objective morality. 4) Humans are equal in value to animals.
By contrast, the Christian worldview stands in direct opposition. 1) There is objective meaning to our existence. 2) There is objective purpose of our existence. 3) There is objective morality. 4) Humans are fundamentally different from and more valuable than animals.
In his conclusion, Turek states:
None of this is to say that we should mistreat animals, or that we should have been happy about Harambe being killed in this unfortunate situation. It’s also not an analysis of whether or not he was killed prematurely. In an ideal world, they would have been able to save both the child and the animal.
Rather, this is to say that a person’s worldview is foundational to how he or she evaluates a situation like this. If you believe that there is no God who designed humans as unique creatures with a unique right to life, you’ll argue over the details of the situation to assert your opinion on which life should have been spared in this particular case. Maybe you think the gorilla should have won, maybe you think the boy should have won. The details are there for discussion. But if you believe that there is a God who has created us specially—in His image—you’ll always argue for doing what it takes to save a human life, because human life is sacred in a way that animal life is not.By the way, CNN reports that the mother of the 3-year-old boy who fell into a gorilla exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo will not be charged, according to Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters, who said: "She had three other kids with her and turned her back. ... And if anyone doesn't believe a 3-year-old can scamper off very quickly, they've never had kids." The mom's name is Michelle Gregg, and Charisma News reported that:
The shooting enraged hundreds of thousands, who now call for #JusticeForHarambe. More than 334,000 signed a petition demanding Gregg be held responsible for the gorilla's death, as well as ask for authorities to investigate the Gregg home.Gregg wrote on Facebook, according to the story: "God protected my child until the authorities were able to get to him. My son is safe and was able to walk away with a concussion and a few scrapes ... no broken bones or internal injuries," adding, "As a society we are quick to judge how a parent could take their eyes off of their child and if anyone knows me I keep a tight watch on my kids. Accidents happen ..."
Also, another note is that Zoo Director Thane Maynard said that the first response was to call the gorillas out of the exhibit - the female gorillas complied, and Harambe did not. A tranquilizer would not have worked because its effect would have been too slow.
So, even though Harambe lost his life, the boy's life was spared - I would dare say miraculously. And, that is an aspect of the story that you haven't heard a lot about; sure, there's debating about whether zoo officials did the right thing or if the parents should be charged, but, there should be a degree of thankfulness that this little boy survived the ordeal. Where's that? It's really time for a reinforcement of the value of human life, isn't it? And, we can be challenged to take time to be thankful for those instances in which we see God show up in our lives.
That, of course, is not to minimize the value of animal life. Jim Daly of Focus on the Family writes:
To be clear, I wholeheartedly believe there is a fundamental difference between human and animals. Zoo officials did the right thing.
At the same time, there is no glee in Harambe’s death. As Christians, we can certainly mourn the loss of Harambe, for his life had value. The Bible tells us in the Proverbs “the righteous care for the needs of their animals” (12:10) And many of you have known firsthand the love and devotion of a pet.
But is the life of that pet … of Harambe … of any animal on earth worthmore than a human life?
No! Human life alone is sacred.I would say to exalt the life of animals ahead of humans is an act that is indicative of a reversal of dominant worldviews that is taking place today - there are those who do not value their fellow human beings; witness the lack of respect that we encounter, see the number of human beings, made in the image of God, whose lives are taken by fellow humans. We must recognize that we are created in and reflect the image of our Creator.
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