Prayerfully confronting animal abuse

Animal rights organizations tell us that many domestic animals around the world live in deplorable conditions—often neglected, deprived of food and shelter, and, worst of all, physically abused. As an animal lover and owner, I find this kind of behavior toward animals unacceptable. So when a recent move across the country to a rural area brought me face to face with abuse that included owners chaining their dogs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year (a practice that deprives them of exercise and human contact, and can lead to physical harm to the animal), as a Christian Scientist I was compelled to confront spiritually the picture of neglect and evil intentions.

I started by knowing that prayer is effective, because it lifts consciousness to see the truth about every situation and leads us to take appropriate action. I know that God is the only creator, and all of Her creation is always under Her loving, watchful, intelligent maintenance. Nothing can hide from divine Love’s observation. Every creature is loved and protected as an idea of God. Mary Baker Eddy writes in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “God gives the lesser idea of Himself for a link to the greater, and in return, the higher always protects the lower” (p. 518 ), which indicates to me that in return for the spiritual lessons animals teach us about unconditional love, patience, joy, and freedom, we need to express gratitude by protecting them. God preserves and defends the identity of each creature, and our compassionate actions can reflect this.

I also found myself frequently turning to Mrs. Eddy’s statement that “all of God’s creatures, moving in the harmony of Science, are harmless, useful, indestructible” (Science and Health, p. 514 ). I claimed that every animal is moving in the harmony of Science, even if it appears to be restricted or confined. Each expression of God moves in divine Mind, and cannot be stopped or limited. These spiritual facts must become evident as they fill our thoughts and lead us to loving actions that bless all involved and do not injure anyone.

I also realized that we cannot allow hate, resentment, or ill will toward perpetrators to enter our thought—those modes of thinking take away our ability to heal. Even the best human intentions must be inspired and directed by God, divine Principle, or they can be susceptible to failure. All animal owners in their true spiritual identity, their only identity, express compassion, sensitivity, and unselfishness, because these qualities are inherent in God’s children. The man or woman of God’s creating has no destructive power, and as we prayerfully insist on this fact, we can expect to see animal abuse fall away and cease. God is the only power, and that power is good and harmless. This spiritual law lifts us out of the dark thinking that would lead one to assert power over another living being, or to diminish life.

I love the story from Genesis in which Noah brings every species of animal into the ark to protect them from the flood (see Genesis 7:7–9 ). Mrs. Eddy defines ark in part as “safety” (Science and Health, p. 581 ). Every creature deserves that ark of safety, and in reality already abides in the security of divine Spirit.

For some time it was challenging for me to see beyond the negligence being inflicted on animals, but I knew that I had to turn away from the mesmerizing picture and let God lead me to productive action. After much prayer, I was led to speak with my state representative about supporting legislation that would allow dogs more protection and freedom. He said he would support such an amendment when it came up for a vote. I also placed newspaper ads reminding people to give special attention to their pets during extreme weather. I continue to pray, knowing that God’s supreme law of divine Love must be reflected in human laws that defend the dignity of all creatures.

We can all express compassion for God’s creatures, because God is the source of compassion and all His ideas naturally include it and express it.