First, let me mention what we should not do. We should avoid simply falling into line with either of the two major political parties on this issue. On the one hand, let's not follow the Democratic Party in worshiping the earth. On the other hand, let's not follow the Republican Party in acting like the earth is ours to destroy.
As in all areas of life, let's make biblically informed decisions.
On the issue of the environment in particular, Genesis 1:1 should settle things for us. We are told, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." We learn a couple of important things here. First, God exists. Second, He made everything and therefore owns everything.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we must recognize that we are stewards of God's creation. We don't really own anything. As Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden, "to tend and keep it," we should do the same. God has created us to glorify Him in all of life. As we do this, we will consume some of His creation. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. However, we should be responsible as we do so.
The problem with the politics of this situation is that neither side takes a biblical view of creation. The liberals care about the environment, but they have turned nature into a god to be worshiped. They fulfill Romans 1:25, which tells us that they, "worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator."
The conservatives may (or may not) worship the God of the bible, but they do not act like they care about His creation at all. Instead of working with the liberals to find ways to conserve God's creation, they act like they would prefer it be destroyed.
As Christians, we should care about nature. It is God's and points to God. When we see a beautiful flower, a magnificent sunset, or a mighty wave crashing on a beach, these all give us a small glimpse of the glory of the Lord. Because of this, we need to be good stewards of His creation.
As we do so, let us remember that we care for nature not as an end in itself. We do not worship the created order, but instead look to the One who made all of it. Let us glory in the Maker of all things.
Below are three photos from God's creation. They are part of some sort of auction related to Earth Day. I liked these three the best. To see the rest, click here. To see some excellent photos of the sun, click here.
3 comments:
Eric, you mentioned politics in your Earth Day blog. You know a large problem with our political system is the "seperation of church and state."
Cristy,
Thank you for commenting.
You said that separation of church and state is a large problem. Why do you believe this?
It is the mindset of society (for the most part) that religious opinions shouldn't be forced on themselves, their children, et cetera. This country used to stand on a platform of "United we stand, one nation under GOD" now, God is no longer welcome in Washington. This isn't to say that some of our politicians are not religious and faithful people. I mean by this, that our politicians are not likely to do God's will as they should simply because they must make society, as a whole (for the most part), happy so they may be re-elected. You are from Savannah, I am also from Georgia and the "Bible Belt" as it were.
Unfortunately it seems as though the people who do not believe outweigh those of us who do believe. But that's why I think what you and Bad Catholic are doing, and many of the others who have "religious" blogs is so important to us now. It's a way to share your ideals and your testimony to anyone who will read it.
Keep up the good work, pilgrim.
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