Another question from the Live Question and Answer night:
Do you believe it is right to euthanize pets? Is it right to take their life
just because they suffer?
To answer this question I think it is wise to remember
Genesis 1:26-28:
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after
our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the
birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over
every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." 27 So God
created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and
female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to
them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have
dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over
every living thing that moves on the earth."
As a part of our creation as humanity, God gave us
responsibility to rule over creation. The idea of the word translated dominion
is that of absolute mastery. God has given us the responsibility over creation
as listed in those verses. Please note carefully though, we do not have
absolutely right over ourselves or other people.
If we take into consideration the responsibility God has
given us to rule or have dominion, then I think it is possible to suggest when
it comes to our pets that God has placed them into our responsibility in manner
similar to God being responsible for our lives (Job 1:20-21 teaches that God is
rightfully sovereign over our beginnings and endings). If that suggestion is
accurate, then I would offer that we do have the right to make decisions about
the ending of the life of a pet who is suffering. We have been given the
responsibility to make, in the case of the pet, that kind of decision. We do
not have the right to make that decision about ourselves or other people, because
God has not given us that responsibility – that is His responsibility.
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