Proverbs 12:10
“A just man cares about his animal’s health…”
The particular phrase, upon which I want to focus is… “A just man cares…” It is a phrase which was written during a time when most of the economy of society revolved around agriculture. Animals provided for the well-being of everyone involved. They drank their milk, covered themselves with their fur, and feed themselves with their meat. Animals protected them with their watchful eye, carried them on their backs, and worked hard to plow their fields. They were beast of labor…provision...and protection.
In this same way today, the economy and safety of our society is dependent on the hard labor and work of individuals who are willing to do things that others are not…bear under burdens that others will not. Let us therefore be mindful, that to be cruel and disrepectful to anything, or anyone, that gives selflessly, and many times sacrificially, to love, protect and provide for the benefit of others is one of the worst evils one can inflict upon another.
As a child I can remember going out to the farm with my dad to feed the cattle. He knew every detail about each animal…their individual health problems…and even their curious personality traits. I can distinctly remember how he agonized when certain animals became sick or injured. Whether it was a horse, a dog, a mule, a cow, or a duck…his concern stepped way beyond the mere investment that was at risk. He genuinely cared for his animals. If you were an animal and wanted to be handled with care and respect, you would have wanted to be owned by my Dad…Ira Landry!
Reaching out to the outcast of society, Jesus was a person devoted to caring for others. Despite their status or ethnicity, Jesus ministered to the poor, prostitutes, lepers, and those considered to be on the bottom of the society of his day. Furthermore, for his compassion he was highly ridiculed…and for this love he was eventually executed. He was then…and still remains to this day…a man that cares. Can we as his people afford to be anything less but…kind, merciful, and thankful for those…who from the bottom…work tirelessly to build and hold up…everything else that is on top?
May we truly be a grateful people…a people full of kindness…acknowledging and honoring those around us who labor for the benefit of others…and who for our freedom, prosperity, and peace…many times…make the ultimate sacrifice! Find someone today who is laboring for others, serving others, sacrificing for others..and show them some love, care, and honor.