One of my Facebook “friends” sends frequent posts out through a group called Pet Pardons. She shows pictures of cute animals like dogs and horses that are apparently animals rescued from death row for various reasons. It appears common for communities to kill unwanted animals in the absence of resources to feed them or interested people looking to adopt them. There appears to be an internecine conflict among different branches of those who take care of animals between those who have fairly grimly realistic views of such matters and those who are idealists in the sense that they refuse to put down animals. I speak, admittedly, as an outsider, for though I find animals to be often cute, the last pet I adopted was when I was a toddler, and that was a long time ago.

It is fashionable in many circles to be sympathetic, even to great extremes. All too often our sympathies (or the lack thereof) are divorced from any sense of justice or proportion. We seem to sympathize with those beings with whom we can identify–the more we have in common that we see between ourselves and them, the more strongly our sympathies are tugged. We generally see pets as lovable, dogs or cats or horses or even more exotic animals like otters and skunks and hedgehogs are all cute and cuddly animals that many of us feel a great attachment to as human beings.

And yet the same people who often show such great sympathy for animals, such that they cannot bear to see even one unwanted and unloved animal slaughtered show very little compassion or sympathy when it comes to unborn human beings. The same people who call their pets children often show little or no compunction at all about supporting the genocide of unwanted unborn. Why is this? Why can we sympathize with a furry little pet and yet not our own flesh and blood living inside of us? Is it because pets demand so little and give so much love and our own flesh and blood are often far more fussy and demanding and expensive? Is it that we do not love or respect ourselves enough to love or respect that which comes for us? Is it simply because we have no consistent standard as to justice and sympathy? Possibly all of the above, or even other reasons besides.

There is a great thrill out of being able to give a death row pardon. As human beings we like to appear merciful and generous, as it gives us a great boost to our self-esteem and ego. But we like to be merciful in ways that do not cost us too much. Is is easy to be merciful to those who are grateful, hard for us to be merciful to those who do not play along in the pageant of reconciliation. It is much easier to be merciful to a loving and cuddly pet than it is to show compassion on an unborn child that will make much greater and much longer term demands on us. If our opinion of human worth is low, we will not grant mercy to the innocent simply because mercy costs more than we are willing to pay.

But let us put the shoe on the other foot. We are all sinners who have earned the death penalty, and we come to God to seek a death row pardon, or remain defiant in our sins in the hope that there is no just judge to punish us for what we know to be wrong. None of us are innocents. And yet we would much rather be the ones giving out mercy selectively and partially, often completely unaware of the grounds that we use for the mercy, or for deciding who is worthy or unworthy of life, than see ourselves in our true state, as either defiant and doomed rebels or humble penitents. Mercy is not nearly so enjoyable when you recognize your need for it and lack of merit, as when you are pretending to be a gracious sovereign giving mercy to one’s subjects. Sometimes you’re the king, and sometimes you’re the penitent. Sometimes you’re both.