God wants us to be mean to animals. This is clearly the take-home point of the lesson I taught last week, which included a discussion about a camel:
This situation is reminiscent of the fable of the camel and his owner who were traveling across the desert sand dunes when a wind storm came up. The traveler quickly set up his tent and moved in, closing the flaps to protect himself from the cutting, grinding sands of the raging storm. The camel was of course left outside, and as the violent wind hurled the sand against his body and into his eyes and nostrils he found it unbearable and finally begged for entrance into the tent.
â€œThere is room only for myself,â€ said the traveler.
â€œBut may I just get my nose in so I can breathe air not filled with sand?â€ asked the camel.
â€œWell, perhaps you could do that,â€ replied the traveler, and he opened the flap ever so little and the long nose of the camel entered. How comfortable the camel was now! But soon the camel became weary of the smarting sand on his eyes and ears â€¦ :
â€œThe wind-driven sand is like a rasp on my head. Could I put just my head in?â€
Again, the traveler rationalized that to acquiesce would do him no damage, for the camelâ€™s head could occupy the space at the top of the tent which he himself was not using. So the camel put his head inside and the beast was satisfied againâ€”but for a short while only.
â€œJust the front quarters,â€ he begged, and again the traveler relented and soon the camelâ€™s front shoulders and legs were in the tent. Finally, by the same processes of pleading and of yielding, the camelâ€™s torso, his hind quarters and all were in the tent. But now it was too crowded for the two, and the camel kicked the traveler out into the wind and storm.
This story clearly illustrates the danger in being nice to animals. Kindness to animals will lead to bad results; we must be mean or callous instead.
Sure, some animals may seem cute or friendly, what with their puppy-dog eyes or soft snuggly purring or sharp, poison-filled scorpionfish spines. It may seem tempting to be kind to an animal here or there, to listen to their concerns, to empathize a little.
We can’t give in. We have been warned. From now on, our story must go like this:
The camel was of course left outside, and as the violent wind hurled the sand against his body and into his eyes and nostrils he found it unbearable and finally begged for entrance into the tent . . .
. . . This traveler, though, was a smart and righteous Christian fellow. So he wisely replied, “You just need to suck it up and suffer, buddy. And don’t stick your nose in here again, or I’ll hit it with a two-by-four.”
The traveler then slept soundly in his tent, knowing that he was protected from the harsh sand and from the crafty conspiring of his selfish camel.
I think I’m going to go kick my dog a few times now, just to be sure that I’m on the straight and narrow.