Recently I’ve been hearing a lot about eliminating cattle from the earth to make the air more pure and eliminate some of the gases that are harming us.  I can’t help but wonder what they can be thinking, or if they can think at all.  I sat down one day and listed on a long tablet all of the things that even one cow can provide for us and it turned out to be a very long list.  Just to mention a few; milk, cream, cottage cheese, ice cream, cheese, butter, meat from every part of the animal, the hide, which can be used for shoes, handbags, upholstery, saddles, belts and leashes and collars for animals, not to mention the labor the cattle have provided to people over hundreds of years, and believe me, I could go on and on but you get the idea.  Eliminating the cattle would also eliminate many industries that produce these products and stores that sell them, not to mention the ranches, dairy farms, leather factories and feedlots that provide many people a living.  I’m sure as you read this you can add many things to it.  But the point is, they want to do this because of a misguided opinion that cow flatulence is ruining the air that they breathe and should be stopped!

God tells us in Psalm 50:10 “For every beast of the forest is Mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.” and in Psalm 104:14 “He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for the labor of man, so that he may bring forth food from the earth…” and Exodus 20:10 shows how God even honored the cattle, “But the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your god; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.”  Those verses help me know that God created the cattle for our good, not to harm us, just as He intended for all things that He created.  He even set apart a day of rest for the cattle as well as people.

As I pondered this, I also thought of the wonderful way God made us, and the hundreds of ways we can be used to help fulfill God’s plans on earth!  We are of infinitely more value to Him than the cow, for He created us to fellowship with Him, to be used by Him to carry out His wishes and purposes on earth.  We were each created especially to meet a need God has for us to fill, no matter where we are in life.  We are able to speak, to help others to know Him and share His love with them and encourage them.  We have hands that can lift people up and do the work that needs to be done when they are unable.  We can also create things of beauty that bring a smile and a bright spot in someone’s life.  We can offer compassion and heartfelt sympathy to those in need, and we have the opportunity to communicate directly with God, to pray and intercede for others for their concerns.  

I’m especially aware that we all are made to serve God in a different way.  I’m awed at the way some of my friends touch others, they are so creative.  Some send a cheery card or a lovely handwritten note, another says it with flowers, yet another with a cheery phone call or text, some with a homemade treat or a special personal treat, and some give you a smile with the decorating they do around their home. Each of us has a way of lifting people up, especially Christians, because as we follow Christ, He gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit, and that gift gives us the fruit we need to use for others.  “Galations 5:22,23 “But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such things there is no law.”      

Spend some time to stop and think about all the ways you have to serve God. 

Whether it’s tending the land or animals He has given us, helping a neighbor with a job, being an honest person in all our dealings, serving our family in hundreds of ways, and honoring Him with your time each day at some point just to seek His guidance and direction for your path ahead and bring people to Him in prayer.  And thank Him for trusting you with His people.  He desires our fellowship, so time with Him is well spent.