05/29/2008
Genesis 9:1 - 7 (HCSB) 1God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 2The fear and terror of you will be in every living creature on the earth, every bird of the sky, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are placed under your authority. 3Every living creature will be food for you; as [I gave] the green plants, I have given you everything. 4However, you must not eat meat with its lifeblood in it. 5I will require the life of every animal and every man for your life and your blood. I will require the life of each man’s brother for a man’s life.
6 Whoever sheds man’s blood,
his blood will be shed by man,
for God made man
in His image.7But you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out over the earth and multiply on it.”
One of the five tenets of Buddhism is “do not kill.” While this sounds like the sixth commandment “13Thou shalt not kill;” Exodus 20:13 (KJV) It differs from the Buddhist tenet which extends to all life. In Buddhism, all life is divine and emanates from the same source and human life is only special in the fact that it is a higher cast than the other animals, but not the highest cast. The strictest Buddhists will avoid any food or product derived from the killing of an animal. However, the verse we know as the sixth commandment refers to the taking of a human life only. More modern translations address this by using the word murder.
When Noah, his sons and their wives left the ark, God gave them permission to eat meat for the first time. But then He prescribes the punishment for taking a human life. Even animals that take a human life must be held accountable.
My point here is this: of all the life that was created, all of it is put in the hands—under the authority—of humans. We are the capstone of all life. We are the reason God created all things. And He has put us in authority over all things. This is not a license to exploit these things, but rather, an obligation to treat them as we would a valuable treasure placed in our charge. We should do everything we possibly can to take care of these resources.
But above all things, human life is reckoned more valuable than any other. If we are evolved, then we should not consider ourselves any different than any other animal, yet, if we are indeed created special in the eyes of God, then we stand apart from the rest of creation.
You are special to God, both as a human and as an individual. Take the opportunity to thank Him for giving you this position of value in His kingdom.
Jeff Justus
Cleff Publishing
www.cleffpublishing.com
©2008 Cleff Publishing, all rights reserved.
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