Earth Day
A controversial topic among Christians is the question of whether we are to take part in environmental issues. If the earth is just going to be destroyed anyway, what does it matter? Shouldn't we be focusing on people's souls?
I believe this is unfortunate. The Bible makes it very clear that we are to care for the earth and its inhabitants. We are to have dominion as a good king has dominion, not as a tyrant or a dictator has dominion.
Just for the record, I do consider myself an environmentalist in many ways. My sons and I study the results of the loss of land in the rain forest. We study human cruelty and how it has been influential in the loss of many species, leading to some animals being on the critically endangered list. We even study - gasp! - climate change. We study ways that we can have appropriate dominion over the earth.
Each year for Earth Day, we plant our gardens. Sometimes it's our flower garden. Sometimes a flower garden and a vegetable garden. This year, we are also heading to a local park to clean the ponds. Who knows? We may not stop there. We may keep going with new Earth Day activities we had not thought of yet.
It is sad that we, as Christians, have gotten to the point of believing God doesn't care about His creation. Jesus taught God sees every sparrow when it falls and He clothes the meadows with beauty that even Solomon's riches could not rival. Why do we think He doesn't care when we exploit that creation? To me, this theology is just another example of our self-centeredness.
I believe this is unfortunate. The Bible makes it very clear that we are to care for the earth and its inhabitants. We are to have dominion as a good king has dominion, not as a tyrant or a dictator has dominion.
Just for the record, I do consider myself an environmentalist in many ways. My sons and I study the results of the loss of land in the rain forest. We study human cruelty and how it has been influential in the loss of many species, leading to some animals being on the critically endangered list. We even study - gasp! - climate change. We study ways that we can have appropriate dominion over the earth.
Each year for Earth Day, we plant our gardens. Sometimes it's our flower garden. Sometimes a flower garden and a vegetable garden. This year, we are also heading to a local park to clean the ponds. Who knows? We may not stop there. We may keep going with new Earth Day activities we had not thought of yet.
It is sad that we, as Christians, have gotten to the point of believing God doesn't care about His creation. Jesus taught God sees every sparrow when it falls and He clothes the meadows with beauty that even Solomon's riches could not rival. Why do we think He doesn't care when we exploit that creation? To me, this theology is just another example of our self-centeredness.
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