Blog - Joyful Curmudgeon - Blog
A Mary T. Hoffman Commentary from All-Creatures.org

 

"Joyful Curmudgeon" An oxymoron?
No! I see all the beauty of God's creation and I'm joyful.  At the same time, I see all the suffering and corruption going on in the world, and feel called to help expose and end it so that we may have true peace and compassion.

 

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Why Be Ashamed? – 13 July 2008
By Mary T. Hoffman

There are some people who are ashamed to admit to others that they are vegetarians/vegans for reasons of compassion/ethics, and who are quick to say that they avoid consuming animal-derived products for “health” reasons only.

This reminds me of the Bible verse (Isaiah 5:20) about calling evil good, and good evil:

20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
NASB

And Psalm 52:3 –

3 You love evil more than good,
Falsehood more than speaking what is right.

Furthermore, it is fairly obvious that people who feel they have to lie about their concern for the suffering of farmed animals are really fearful concerning what others might think. This brings to mind 2 Timothy 1:7 –

7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. KJV

Other scriptures that have a bearing on this subject are Ezekiel 36:26 –

26 "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. NASB

And Isaiah 51:7 –

7 "Listen to Me [God], you who know righteousness,
A people in whose heart is My [God’s] law;
Do not fear the reproach of man [people],
Neither be dismayed at their revilings.
NASB

When you stop to think about it, the cannibals of long ago probably were intimidating to people who wanted to stop eating other humans! We shouldn’t be ashamed to make changes that bring much-needed kindness, gentleness and compassion to this world gone “macho-crazy.”

Remember Galatians 5:22 and 23?

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. NASB

The people who should be ashamed are the ones who stubbornly refuse to change for the better and are complicit in the cruelty of this fallen world. They’re the ones who have a problem!

Go on to: Silence – 14 July 2008
Return to: Thoughts for Today – 12 July 2008
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