What Sets Us Apart from Animals?

Human beings have many traits that separate them from animals and what has been referred to as Ahominid ancestors. The one trait that I believe we all have in common is that we originated from the hand of the same Creator. After that, humans are different in a variety of ways.

One of the traits that I feel is distinctly human is the ability to feel compassion. I truly believe that many animals feel love, not only for their own kind, but for humans as well. However, the ability to be understanding of another's motives, feelings, and fears, is a trait that I believe is common only to mankind. Unlike animals, humans can care about and feel compassion toward people in other countries, whether they are suffering from poverty, war, or a natural disaster. It seems to be the nature of most humans to try to do whatever they can to ease the suffering of their fellow man.

The ability to think about and plan for life after death is common only to man. Human beings have a desire to know what will happen to them after their bodies die. For the majority of people in this country, this means deciding whether or not we will accept salvation and the gift of eternal life that is promised in the Bible. For those who are Christians, an eternal life in Heaven awaits them after their earthly life is over. But even those who do not believe the Bible think about eternity. Many stories have been told to explain what happens when we die, including the rather widespread belief in re-incarnation. We have no evidence, or reason to believe, that animals share this awareness of eternity.

Another trait I feel sets mankind apart is worship. Humans have been great worshipers from the beginning of recorded history. They may have, at times, chosen to worship some rather unusual gods, but the desire to worship was always there. Man needs to believe that there is a greater power, a greater intelligence, and perhaps, someone Up There that they can bargain with. When people don't believe in God, they make their own gods. They create gods in myths and fairy tales, or make gods of wood and stone. Rituals of worship are important to man for different reasons. There is the desire to communicate with a greater power, to seek forgiveness of sins, the urge to thank Someone for the many blessings they have received, and the need for Someone they can cry out to in times of great need. People in different lands and cultures have many different rituals and ways of worshiping, but they all worship someone or something. There are those who choose to worship the almighty dollar, as opposed to any intelligent being outside of themselves.

I chose to point out these particular traits because I feel they best express what sets humans apart from lesser animals. Although we are born, we eat, we sleep,we procreate, and we die, just as a mouse or a monkey, we alone, as humans, seek knowledge of what happens after this life. W e choose to worship in our variety of ways, and we are capable of feeling compassion for strangers. We don't always act on our best traits, or act in the most appropriate ways, but these traits do set us apart and a bit beyond the birds and the beasts, and should be valued for that, if no other reason.