This past weekend we have all heard the story of a 3 year old boy falling into the gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo. The zoo staff have been criticized, but there has been national outrage against the parent of the 3 year old.
Sheila Hurt, person who initiated a petition to encourage an investigation of the child’s home environment, believes that this incident was due to the parent’s negligence.
In an interview this morning with MSNBC’s Tamron Hall, Ms. Hurt says that she has two boys in their twenties and as a parent she has never taken her eyes off them. Really? Tamron Hall says that although she is not a parent, that Ms. Hurt must be the most exceptional parent in the world because most parents admit that all it takes is a second.
Throw the first stone you who are without sin is what Jesus told those accusing a woman caught in adultery, then Jesus stooped and began writing on the ground and all the accusers left. John 8:7
Now while we don’t know what Jesus wrote, I wonder what would happen if Jesus could stoop and write on the ground the sins of Ms. Hurt and all the petition signers. None of us are perfect parents. Yet these people are Angry because the gorilla was killed to save a child. What would Jesus write?
I do wish that this situation hadn’t happened, but it did. Being at the zoo gives visitors opportunity to see animals of the wild up close and personal; however, it is the zoo’s responsibility to ensure the protection of its visitors. The first priority should always be to save the life of a human being over the life of an animal, and the Cincinnati Zoo staff admiringly did just that.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 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 1:27-28
I too am a parent, and view children as a gift from the Lord, yet I failed on more than one occasion as a parent. Matt Walsh, a blogger at The Blaze, puts it this way: “any parent knows that kids can create enormous, life-endangering trouble for themselves in the blink of an eye.”
He also says that “We are living in the days of neo-paganism, where legions of depraved souls seem only capable of mustering compassion for wild beasts. As for human beings, they feel only contempt and indifference.” This is so very sad, yet so very true.
May God help us all.
Musings and My Two Cents 
As a parent, I have seen my children in danger. In all cases, there were things I could have done to prevent it, but wasn’t aware of the danger until something happened. The most terrifying was walking into my daughters’ room, and seeing my (then) 2-year old hanging from the outside of the window ledge by her fingers. She had climbed onto her sister’s bed, opened the window, and leaned against the screen. Through some miracle, she grabbed the window ledge and held on.
Of course I moved the bed away from the window after that. Do I think she would have tried it again? I have no way of knowing. But I also had no way of knowing it was a danger before it happened. Children can get into and out of danger in less time than one would think humanly possible. Blaming a parent for a child going over the wall of zoo enclosure is nonsense. It would be the same as blaming a parent if their child was kidnapped at the zoo. All it takes is a second.
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Yes, all it takes is a second and/or any distraction. We so need grace in our lives.
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Really enjoyed this post alot.
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Thanks so much, Judith! Just expressing my two cents. Glad it was worth your read.
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I can’t imagine a parent who has NEVER taken their eyes off their child. It was an unfortunate event, but the life of an animal should never be placed above that of a child or any human. God gave us dominion over the animals. It’s too bad that the gorilla had to die, but any person who is criticizing that mom should place themselves in her place. What if it were your child? Who’s life would you be in favor of saving? Accidents happen. It could have happened to anyone. Even the best of parents. If anyone should be held responsible, it should be the zoo. There should have been NO WAY anyone should have been able to access that gorilla, accidental or not. There’s my 2 cents. : )
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Well alright, Sheila! Of course I agree.
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We as a society are never happy unless we are pointing fingers at someone. So sad. I really enjoyed your write up on this.
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Thanks Cool Red Head!
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TheDaddyBlitz said what I was thinking, but also . . . What about that boy? He watched the gorilla die, and he might understand that it is because he went into an area he wasn’t supposed to. He’ll probably remember this for the rest of his life, and he learned a dufficult lesson in a hard way.
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Yes, it has to be something traumatic for that little one. Thanks for reading my post.
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Agree! And if the boy had been killed while the zoo waited on the tranquilizer to work (5-10 minutes of horror), 1) the protesters would not have spoken out for the child; 2) many people would flip-flop their opinion; and 3) the zoo probably would have been shut down or had some very serious action taken against it. It broke my heart to see that gorilla killed (I’m an animal enthusiast), but we can’t be in such a place where an animal is elevated over a three-year-old boy being dragged around an exhibit by a gorilla.
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Amen. We live in a fallen world.
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