There are many people out there who would like talk to animals. Or rather, I should say that want to hold conversations with animals (talking to them isn’t hard, but understanding when they talk back is another matter entirely). In addition to just talking to animals, there is a desire for the separation between Man and the Animal Kingdoms to be removed, that the veil between the two would be torn once and for all.
The Bible says that there will be a day when the lion will lie down with the lamb, and a little child will lead them. This is typically relegated to a far-off future post-return of Jesus in the Second Coming. But the veil was torn over 2000 years ago and there is no longer a separation, so we can have connectedness and peace now. And while one could say that the temple veil represented separation between God and man only, I suggest that is not so. Jesus died to set us free from every curse and bondage and place that was less-than God’s intent, so it would stand that all separation of every kind brought in through the Fall of Man was dealt with, not just that of God and man.
The fear of Man was placed upon animals at a time when (I theorize) that there was a dietary deficiency as a result of the flood. It is possible that it was the atmospheric change that scientists have theorized that caused this change, or it may simply have been that so much of the earth was covered with water that many plants simply died after that length of time and some of those plants became extinct. It is possible that any number of other things transpired to cause this change—we will never know outside of divine revelation.
What we do know is that as is recorded in Genesis, after the Flood the rules changed. Animal began to eat animal (suggesting that all animals had been herbivores prior), and Man started to eat animals as well. I imagine it was due to survival needs and in order to protect creation that God placed fear of Man into animals. And why not? After all, He loves animals too. It would be uncharacteristic of God to tell mankind to make animals a target and then in turn give animals no internal warning system whatsoever to let them know Man is now a dangerous species. Due to this warning system, however, animals run away from people unless they as a species have been tamed over a long period of time.
If walking in a forest, deer usually run away when they see a person. If a squirrel or bird is hanging out at a bird-feeder, they will typically run or fly away when a human approaches, even if the person approaches slowly and with no negative feelings directed toward that animal. It’s almost as if something about our very presence tells the animals to “get away.” I believe it is time for this fear to be removed not just conceptually, but in practice.
Before we take another step to start asking God to remove that fear, I think we need to look at some things honestly. For starters, why do we want this ability with animals? If it’s because we “want to,” because we love animals, or because we have some other positive, non-threatening reason, then it stands to reason that pursuing this ability is worthwhile. After all, Jesus purchased it at a very high price, so why should we not live in it? However, this ability doesn’t come free of charge–anything that God gives us comes with a measure of responsibility. An example of this is our diet—do we eat meat? And are there hunters among us?
If the second of the above answers was “yes,” we are at the greatest risk for misusing and abusing this capacity. If you think about it, are we really going to lure animals into a sense of false security only to then trap or kill them and eat them? This is probably the very reason why God put fear there in the first place. If we decide we want to live at peace with the Animal Kingdom then we actually have to live at peace with them. I’m not saying one has to become a 100% raw-food vegan, but in reality if we want to live in a manner that respects the lives of animals then we must treat them differently than we have collectively in the past.
Animals are a large part of our economy, not just the food chain. Almost every restaurant in the U.S. alone serves meat in 80% or more of its food dishes, and often the percentage is much higher than that. There are some farmers who raise nothing but meat-animals, and there are many jobs that do nothing but handle dead animal-flesh. Some examples: taxidermist, butcher, meat-attendant-at-grocery-store, meat packing company employee, food-processor-of-dried-meat-products-employee, professional game hunter, restaurant cook/chef, rancher/ranch hand, trucker-who-ships-meat-and-livestock. If we stopped eating meat, we would actually remove thousands and thousands of jobs from the economy. While those people would eventually find other jobs or work in other similar job-areas that don’t involve meat, the point is that carnivorous behavior is actually quite ingrained into our culture. To take a step away from that and choose to be vegetarian actually limits food choices greatly, which is a consideration we have to look at. Even if we all decided to go vegetarian (which isn’t likely), there would have to be some kind of scalability to the process to phase out of old ways and into new ones. In reality, if we start collectively changing our habits now, it will likely take a generation (about 20+ years) before we see a significant difference.
A few years ago I was preaching at a gathering in Washington State and as per the custom of that group, they gathered together prior to the meeting for food and fellowship potluck-style. I didn’t tell anyone at the time that I was vegetarian (I’m not currently but was then), and I didn’t believe in imposing my dietary choices on other people for a single evening. But as a result there was actually only one food item there that I could eat—macaroni and cheese. And don’t get me wrong—I like mac and cheese. But with a large gathering and literally only one food item that wasn’t meat, it kind of makes the point I’m getting at. And I’m not just talking about foods that have touched meat or have pieces of meat in them. I mean that every one of the non-mac-and-cheese items offered were all different forms of cooked meat—thus there was no “eating around it.” And please don’t hear this as a complaint—I chose not to make my food preferences known, and I enjoyed both my meal and the company I kept while eating it. I am using this example to point out that if we want to live at peace with the Animal Kingdom, we will need to make some mental shifts in our lives, resulting in some physical shifts and possibly dietary changes as well.
Let’s revisit the responsibility issue of a greater dominion over the Animal Kingdom and ability to communicate with them better. Let me explain what I mean—for every area of supernatural connection that we gain, whether it be with Animals, the Nature Kingdom, Stellar Spirits, or some other group, we open ourselves up to a greater measure of responsibility. For example, if I can talk to animals then when they approach me with problems, it stands to reason that I will need to at least attempt to do something about it. Additionally, many animals habitats worldwide have been drastically altered and managed by humans, and as such they are going to need our assistance for a number of the problems they run into because we’re often the ones that caused them to begin with.
Being Dr. Dolittle could have its high points, and I’m sure it does, but it also comes with its own price. What if we were busy trying to order our pets around and it told us it didn’t like it when we talked to it like that? How would we handle a rebuke from an animal? I’d be shocked if Balaam was expecting the response he got from his donkey when he was busy beating it. And to be honest, Balaam was pretty blessed that he got a donkey who wasn’t inclined to fits of rage, as kicks from donkey hindquarters can be deadly when aimed properly. And what are we going to do when the deer take over our yard and eat our garden to shreds during hunting season because they’re running from the hunters and know they’re safe at our place?
Or what if our neighbor’s cat comes for a visit and tells us what he sees the father doing to the child late at night when mother is sleeping and he thinks no one is watching? How do we handle that? Precious few authorities on the planet would believe us if we said “the cat told me the father is molesting his child”, and it certainly won’t stand up in court of law. I get that got real dark real fast, but these are the kinds of problems we will actually run into. Are we prepared for them?
I’m not saying we should shy away from wanting things due to the price that may come as a result, but I do think it is important to think things through before we dive headlong forward without preparation. Luke 14:28-30 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’” If we want to discover how to restore communion with the Animal Kingdom, I believe it is good to do so, as it is part of what Jesus purchased for us. I believe that in the same way God is restoring the revelation of life and immortality to us, God is also restoring our ability to communicate with the Animal Kingdom—but I think we need to also consider what it will cost us. It is my hope that by discussing this, we will be able to reason through some of the things we need to learn and understand as God releases this to us so that we can properly apprehend, live in, and steward the gift.
We will be covering more about this subject in Part 2, dealing with Mindsets and Personhood. Come join us next week!
