If Animals Could Speak Human…

Have you ever sat down to wonder how animals refer to you when they are communicating with each other? Are you the mean one, the nice one or the indifferent one?

Let’s make a flashback to the story of Balaam and his donkey in Numbers 22:12-35. Balaam was a prophet who was summoned by King Balak to curse the Israelites on their way to Canaan. Fast forward, on Balaam’s way, an angel of the Lord was sent to kill him. Balaam’s donkey saw the angel and tried to save his life on three accounts. But Balaam, oblivious to the danger ahead beat up his ride.

Then Lord gave the donkey the power of speech and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you? Why have you beaten me these three times?” Balaam answered, “Because you have made a fool of me! If I had a sword, I would kill you.” The donkey replied, “Am I not the same donkey on which you have ridden all your life? Have I ever treated you like this before?” (Numbers 22: 28-30) (Emphasis added)

The donkey’s words were very emotional. He had been faithful to his master all these years but his master never appreciated him and saw only his flaws.

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If animals could talk, what would they say about us? Most animations try to depict the lives of pets and what runs through their minds (Camp, 2018; Lepeniotis & Cameron, 2014; Paul, Daurio, Renald & Cheney, 2016) In all the animations where the animals talk to themselves about humans, the good ones are always praised and adored and other animals wish they had a cool master/human like that. The bad ones are often despised. They make these animals miserable and have them hate humans for the rest of their lives.

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Oftentimes, we think caring for animals is the job of the veterinarian or the animal freak, but in reality, caring for animals is for all of us. You don’t need to have a pet before you show some love to an animal. Think of that stray dog you met last time and you tried stoning it? Or that bird’s nest you happily destroyed? Sometimes, we don’t even know what the animals are going through when we meet them, yet we are so cruel to them.

Offer help to them when ever you can. As little as it may seem, they really appreciate it. It can be as little as sacrificing part of your supper for a stray cat.

Animals feel pain and they also feel love. They think, make bonds, make friends and of course enemies too (Guess what! A crow can keep a grudge for life and pass it on to her chicks. Yup!). Most animals do not necessarily harm us unless they feel threatened. Do you know that one kind action towards an animal can change his/her life forever? Do you also know that being kind to animals (taking care of them) is good for your health and that of the animal too in the long run? It reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, improves mental health, promotes healthy ageing and supports child development (HABRI, 2017). It helps you to grow to be responsible and also look out for others.

Also, humans are responsible for 99% of the damages the Earth is going through. I recently read an article from National Geographic about how humans are facilitating the 6^th mass extinction at a faster rate than usual (Greshko, 2019). We have cut down forests to farm and build houses. We have polluted our waters with plastics and oil and killed the marine mammals in large numbers. We have polluted the air with various chemicals and noise, driving most of the airborne animals’ nuts. We have polluted our soils, leaving most microorganisms resistant and killing the beneficial earthworms and plants that sustain us.

The bible says in Proverbs 12:10, “righteous people take care of their animals but wicked people are cruel to theirs”. Thank God we don’t measure our righteousness by this standard. All of us, including me, would find ourselves on shaky grounds. We were created to tend the Earth God created, but we are rather destroying it with actions we deem necessary for life. 

The next time you meet an animal and think of harming it, just for the fun of it, I pray you would remember this statement, “If animals could speak, what would they say about us?”

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A well-treated animal would be loyal to you, no matter what.

Animals don’t just talk about humans in movies only. I’m sure they do whenever they gather.

Are you the kind one, the cruel one or the indifferent one?

References

Camp, B (Writer & Director), (2018). Benji. [Movie]. In Blum, J. & Camp, B (Producers). United States of America, USA: Blumhouse Productions

Greshko, M., (2019). What Are Mass Extinctions, and What Causes Them? Retrieved on 30^th June, 2020 from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/prehistoric-world/mass-extinction/

HABRI, (2017). The Pet Effect. Retrieved on 5^th June, 2020 from https://habri.org/the-pet-effect/ 

Lepeniotis, P. (Writer & Director) & Cameron, N. (Writer), (2014). The Nut Job. [Animation]. In Moloy, G. & Jung, W. (Producers). Los Angeles, LA: Gulfstream Pictures, Redrover International and ToonBox Entertainment,

Paul, C., Daurio, K. (Writers), Renauld, C. & Cheney, Y. (Directors), (2016). The Secret Life of Pets. [Animation]  In Meledandri‎, C., & Healy, J. (Producers). France, FR: Illumination Mac Guff