A couple years ago I wrote a blog post on whether or not Christians have a collective blind spot in regard to animals. Although it seems that more and more Christians are waking up to the horrors of the animal industries, and are moving toward a plant-based diet, the overwhelming majority of Christians are still either unaware, or simply choose to look the other way. In online discussions, I always see non-vegan Christians point to the same scriptures, to argue that God has no problem with flesh eating.

I’m not going to go through all of those scriptures and arguments. What I want to focus on is an important point that I think many of us tend to forget:

God has a heart for the underdog.

God has always had a heart for the weak, the vulnerable, the innocent and defenseless, and he wants us to as well. This is a theme throughout the Bible, God’s desire for justice and compassion for the forgotten underdogs among us!

In both the Old and New Testaments, we can see that God never wanted us to be religious in a superficial way, God wants us to change on the inside and do what is right, as opposed to what is selfish, convenient, meaningless or merely cultural.

To that point, most Christians would probably say, “Yes, it is true that God cares about the vulnerable and defenseless, but he is talking about humans, not animals.”

The reality is that God’s love and mercy extends to all He created. (Psalm 145:9) By looking at the pre-fall world, we know that it was not God’s intent for mankind to eat animals. God created a world of peace and harmony. Both humans and animals were herbivorous (Genesis 1:29-30) and we were given the responsibility to care for the animals, as image-bearers of God. We can also see that God cares about all creation by looking at the future world, a world where “the wolf will dwell with the lamb” when Jesus restores the peace and harmony that He created in the beginning. (Isaiah 11:6-9)

So I would argue that God’s heart for the oppressed, vulnerable, innocent and defenseless does include the animals He lovingly created and cares about. I believe that God’s heart is grieved by the horrific and diabolical ways that animals are treated on a daily basis, and the fact that billions of His creations are brutally and needlessly slaughtered, out of greed, selfishness, temporary palate pleasure, habit and tradition.

As Christians, maybe we should re-examine our hearts and ask ourselves whether or not it is right to exclude animals from our circle of love and mercy. When we look at the scriptures that show God’s heart for the underdog, and God’s anger toward those who exploit the innocent, vulnerable and defenseless, let us look at those scriptures with fresh eyes. Let us look at those scriptures with the knowledge that God loves not only human beings, but also the beautiful, sentient, animals He created and who belong to HIM!

“Bring no more vain offerings….

Your hands are covered with blood.

Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves.
Remove your evil deeds from My sight.
Stop doing evil.
Learn to do what is good.
Seek justice.
Correct the oppressor.
Defend the rights of the fatherless.
Plead the widow’s cause.”

Isaiah 1:13a, 15b-17

“With what shall I come before the Lord,
And bow myself before the High God?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
Ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?”

Micah 6:6a, 7-8

“Open your mouth for those who cannot speak,
and for the rights of those who are left without help.
Open your mouth. Be right and fair in what you decide.
Stand up for the rights of those who are suffering and in need.”

Proverbs 31:8-9

“This is what the Lord Almighty said:
Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.”

Zechariah 7:9

“But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Mark 10:31

“And the king will answer and say to them,
‘Truly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it for one of the least
of these my brethren, you did it for me.’”

Matthew 25:40

Again, many Christians might object to applying those scriptures to both humans and animals. But again, we need to remember that God’s love and mercy is not limited to human beings. Think about this…if Jesus commanded us to love even our enemies who have done us wrong, why would we assume that He doesn’t want our love to extend to His animals who are innocent and have done us no wrong?

If we have a choice, which we do, then wouldn’t you agree that God wants us to choose mercy?

To paraphrase a quote by a famous vegan activist, veganism is not a sacrifice. It is a joy and a blessing!

If you are a non-vegan Christian, I hope that you will think about these things, and ask God what He would prefer, your continued participation in the animal industries, or a new path, one of love and mercy for animals? A path that was God’s intent for humanity when He created this world, and is also God’s plan for the future.

Thank you for reading and feel free to share your thoughts, I look forward to hearing from you!

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