Spiders Hurt, Too

Proverbs 30:28
“The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings’ palaces.”

Evolution has given people today the idea that there are “higher” and “lower” animals. As a result, many people have come to think, for example, that the so-called “lower” animals don’t feel pain. Some people even fault the Bible for using language which speaks of animals experiencing life as humans do.

But as our knowledge of the created world grows, even the Bible’s language on this subject is being vindicated. When a spider catches an insect in its web, that is usually the end of the insect. But researchers were watching as a poisonous ambush bug, caught in a web, was about to be bitten and wrapped by a spider. As the spider moved in on its prey, the ambush bug stung one of the spider’s legs. To the researchers’ surprise, the spider reacted immediately by dropping its injured leg and running back to the center of its web.

This led scientists to wonder if the spider reacted like this because he felt pain. Further study showed researchers that spiders do indeed feel pain, and most living things probably do, too.

Since living things are capable of experiencing life in similar ways, even our emotions and senses can be compared to God’s – even though they are poor when compared to His. For this reason, we should not be surprised to learn that His other creatures experience life as we do without the false limitations imposed by evolutionary distinctions of so-called “higher” and “lower” life.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I thank You that You have loved me with a perfect love even though I cannot return perfect love. Help me to be more like You in all my thinking and feelings. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Notes:
Photo: Ambush bug. Courtesy of IronChris. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.