What's the difference?

Frankie, our 3 year old male dog, likes to mark stuff. He's done it for all his 21 dog years. Last week he "took ownership" of something that got us pretty upset. After yelling at him and ushering him out of the house, I said, "Why are you so stupid sometimes?" Then God got me thinking.

It occurred to me that I was actually holding Frankie to a human standard. It also occurred to me that I was calling something that God created "stupid." So here are my thoughts on those two... thoughts, in case anyone is still interested.

First, what is the difference between people and animals? On a spiritual level, animals do not need a savior; people do. Christ did not die so animals could receive eternal life. If that was necessary, he would have come as an animal. No, he took on our form because we are in desperate need of rescuing.

So, what's the difference between people and animals? Obviously, we both have memories. We both have emotions (I know you non-animal owners out there will disagree, but that's because you are a non-animal owner.). We both make decisions. We both care for others of our kind (hopefully). We both have the same basic needs. The differences appear to be a matter of scale.

The abilities of human memory is different (in a greater way) than animals. The same goes with emotions and the way caring is displayed. I believe though, that the greatest difference is in the decision-making ability, in that I think that animals do not have free will. As Pavlov's dog demonstrated, animals make decisions based on the effects of the environment they have been, and presently are, in. While people also make some decisions by that same experience, we also have the ability to make decisions based on future events, the experiences of others, or by applying knowledge and wisdom to situations.

Consequently, it's silly for me to say that a dog is stupid because he acts in a way that God created him to act. I suppose in the reverse, it's silly for me to not say that peopel are stupid when we act like an animal, which is not the way God created us to act.

I'll put the other conclusion up later. It's too much for one post.