"Save the trees......"

I just have to share what I witnessed today when shopping for groceries at our local organic market. I buy most of the food our family eats at a small locally owned market called Food and Thought. Everything in the store is certified organic and they carry fresh veggies, fruits, meat, milk, and supplements. They also have a restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner - again all organic. The prices are as reasonable as can be expected for organics and we spend quite a bit of time there. Several weeks ago and small, black cat began hanging around and has been "adopted" by the people who run the store and the customers. Everyone feeds the cat and he or she (I didn't check the sex) has grown fat and sleek and happy. It makes Lyndsey's day when we head to "Mr. Franks" to see the cat. I'm not sure what name they settled on, but they were taking ideas. Today, we had lunch in the restaurant and then I did my shopping. As I was cleaning off our table and gathering our things to leave I heard a small commotion at the counter where you order food. There was a lady there with her very embarrassed looking teenage son, asking one of the managers if the cat was spayed or neutered (as I said, I'm not sure which would apply). The man told her that no it wasn't, that they did not want to have the cat "fixed." Notice I said that they CHOSE not to have the cat fixed. They did not neglect to take care of the cat or choose to ignore the needs of the cat - the cat belongs to them and they decided what to do with it. This lady began to share her opinion of the answer very loudly. The restaurant was full and this lady was practically yelling that it is "disgusting" not to spay or neuter your animals and that she would no longer be shopping in a place run by such disgusting people who would dare not take care of their pet. The manager looked rather relieved that she would no longer be shopping there and kindly, but firmly told her that she was entitled to her own opinion, but the cat belonged to him and he had chosen what to do with it. To which she turned to the nearest person and began again to share her opinion. She did this with every store clerk or customer that she passed between the counter and the door and even once she reached the courtyard where said cat resides she continued her tirade to any and every one within earshot. Soon, she had other people in the courtyard stirred into a tither over the well being of the cat. Meanwhile, the cat lay smugly on its back while three or four people, Lyndsey included, sat over it, dangling playthings and feeding it morsels of very well prepared, organic food. I can almost guarantee that this is the best fed cat in town! My dog eats Purina, and is happy to get it!

You may be wondering why I am sharing this with you and if I have a point. I don't know about a point, but I have an opinion. Over the past several years I have become a very "earthy" person. We eat practically 100% organic food, use homeopathy and herbs as alternative medicine, see a holistic doctor for our medical needs, do not use chemical cleaning supplies and do not spray our house or yard with pesticides. We also bake our own bread, make homeade granola, and we got rid of our microwave. I feel like I do my part in saving the planet with the money I spend on "alternative" things. However, I don't do these things for the same reasons that many "earthy" people do them. I believe that we have strayed too far from God's plan for our lives and we have allowed the modern conveniences to make us lazy and slothful. I think that much of the disease in our country is caused by the sin of laziness. We eat things today that were never meant to be eaten, in the name of quick and easy. I believe that we should be good stewards of the earth because God created it and commanded Adam to tend it. I am all for taking care of the planet and planting trees, and there is nothing wrong with spaying your pet. However, God gave Adam dominion over the animals and he said that humans were made in His image. We live in a society spinning dangerously out of control when people will stand in a market and rant and rave about the reproductive issues of an animal, yet I imagine that this lady, and others like her, are not nearly as concerned about the countless number of babies murdered by abortion every year. They want to make laws that protect whales, sea turtles, and mangroves - yet there is no law in America protecting the most innocent among us. We have totally lost our focus in this country when people are more concerned about unwanted cats than they are about unwanted babies.