Naming a Pet

Scenarios:
Purchasing or naming a pet, treating animals with kindness

Scripture Lesson:
In the beginning God created all living things.

And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:25)

Question: Why do you think God “saw that it was good?”

In addition to animals, God created man and woman.

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:26-28)

Questions:

• Why do you think God created man and woman in his own image?
• Why do you think God gave man and woman dominion over every living thing?
• What do you think having dominion means to God?
• How does God expect us to treat the animals that He has created?

Afterwards God asks Adam to name the animals.

And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; (Genesis 2:19-20)

Question: Why would God ask Adam to name the animals?

Story: Our son wanted a pet for a long time. But having five kids made it difficult for us to warm up to the idea since it would mean much more work for us. But we decided that we could probably do a fish. So for Christmas we gave him a fish bowl, decorative pebbles, and a fish net. The next day we went to the pet store where he picked out a bright pink GloFish. This was his fish and no one else’s. He had complete stewardship over this fish; in a way you can say he had dominion. The most important and memorable experience he had with his fish was naming him. He called him Zippy. He felt so proud to have had such an impact on an animal. If you think about it, this animal was now going to be called Zippy till the end of his life, by everyone. It’s a really big deal. This important action of naming his fish endeared Zippy to him. He longed to protect, take care of, and love his fish from that day on. 

Application
Question: How do you think you should treat your pets or animals in general?