Christians and the Environment

It has been over six weeks since the terrible accident that sank the BP oil rig, killed eleven oil workers, and caused thousands of barrels of oil to be released into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico since then. I have been looking at pictures of the spill and seen the terrible ecological devastation it is causing. I cannot fathom how much sea life has been permanently destroyed by this unfortunate event. While I'm not a scientist, I am afraid that this accident may take the environment hundreds of years to fully recover, if that is even possible.

It is sad when we humans are the cause of such ecological destruction. This oil spill is only a part of a larger environmental tragedy that we have been a part of over the last several thousand years. The natural world is out of balance. This is a result of sin, I believe. When God tells Adam the ground will bring forth thorns as he works to till it, I see the beginning ecological imbalance. Thistles and thorny plants are good plants when they are in their natural habitat, but it is when they get into areas they are not native to that they begin to be a problem and choke out the other native plants. The entry of sin brought on this ecological struggle between man and the natural world. God's good creation became damaged by man's sin. Man began to destroy the creation, though not always intentionally. The environmental problems of today, I believe, are mostly the result of good intentions yesterday. Man is the only creature made in the image of God. Man is also the only creature capable of destroying the planet God made for us. Between our environmental accidents and our weapons of mass destruction, it is safe to say that life on Earth hangs by a thread.

So what are we to do? I believe that Christians should be the most environmentally minded people out there. We believe God created this good world, and cares about it very much. Man was given the responsibility of caring for it and stewarding it. This is something we dare not forget. Many times I see Christians who hate any form of environmentalism. They say that global warming is a myth, despite the overwhelming evidence that the pollution we cause is affecting the global climate. Some even say that since God is going to give us a new heavens and new earth in the future, we shouldn't worry too much about exploiting the world right now. This way of thinking is terrible! Yes, God promises a future heaven and earth that will be free from the effects of sin, but that is no excuse to mistreat the one we have today. If a parent gives their son or daughter an old car that is starting to fall apart with the promise that one day soon, they will buy him or her a new car, does that mean the child should abuse and mistreat the old car? No! Because of the promise of the future new vehicle, the son or daughter should treat the present car with the utmost care. They should prove to their parents they are capable of taking care of a good car. It is the same way with the earth. As Christians, we owe it to God as an act of devotion to Him to take care of what he has given us.

As we live in the wake of this tragedy in the gulf, let us pray for the future of our world. A lot of damage has been done, a lot of God's world has been destroyed due to our fallen, imperfect state of being. Let us pray and work to find ways of preventing this in the future. Let's try to find ways to live within the world in a way that uses cleaner energy and causes less ecological damage. Let us try to be active in the preservation of this wonderful planet, with the worship of our wonderful God in mind.