I watched my cat Borris attacking something hidden in the window seat this morning. He would stalk, go down low and pounce. I had to see what he was after so I walked over and lifted the cushion. A fly flew up, anxious to get away, but Borris was too quick and with a leap and a bound he had the fly.
Once he got him, he didn’t know what to do with him. I didn’t know what to do either. I am not a fan of flies. But I also have a soft heart and realize that the little fly is a creature of God’s. Did I want Borris to eat him? Or did I want him to fly around my house, in which case I probably would swat the fly without a second thought at killing a creature of Gods.
I feel that way when I see the picture of a deer and look at it’s soft eyes and know that someone will someday probably hunt him down. Could I do that and not give it a second thought because of the thrill of the hunt?
I swat at mosquitos and definitely go for the kill without a second thought. People hunt squirrels and rabbits. We eat their meat. We eat the cows and the pigs, but we have a soft spot and don’t eat horse meat. We are picky in our choices of what creatures should live and what should not.
Animals seem to be the same way. They hunt to survive, just as we eat to survive. It is survival of the fittest.
Where do we as humans fit into the chain of survival of the fittest?
Do we hunt each other down with words? Do we hunt each other down with criticism? Do we hunt each other down with bullying and even physical confrontation in some cases?
Are we narrowing down the fittest by not taking care of the homeless and the sick?
Will we eventually not give it a second thought when someone that is homeless dies, when someone is murdered, when someone commits suicide? Will we just toss our hands in the air and say “It is the survival of the fittest?”
Just wondering why I give no thought to the tiniest fly and mosquitos because they irritate me? Or the deer that’s eyes that remind of my Borris, sitting in the window gazing at me with love?
Will we as a society eventually not give a second thought to the value of a human life? Will we eventually become like the fly or the mosquito and be swatted away when we are no longer useful to society? Just pondering.
