The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it (Psalm 24:1)
We are bearers of God’s image. As His people we all have the responsibility and privilege of caring for God’s creation. As followers of Jesus, we are motivated and led by Scripture to love and care for the Earth that we have been entrusted with. We are taught to love and care for the earth as well as care for the most vulnerable people on the planet.
If we are honest, our day-to-day choices and attitudes are often driven by our culture, political views and lifestyle preferences, not the Bible. However, the science is clear: because of our human activity, we see effects like species extinction and climate change. When we fail to see the world as God’s creation, we will end up abusing it. Selfishness and greed take over, and we end up not caring about the environment or the problems we’re creating for future generations.
As the African proverb of the Kikuyu of Kenya says: “You must treat the earth well. It was not given to you by your parents. It is loaned to you by your children”
Caring for creation should be motivated by love not fear. Yet, lament and repentance are appropriate considering all that we have done to devastate our planet. As followers of Jesus we must never despair. We must move forward with the truth, taking responsibility for our actions, and then making the world a better place for all. The world and everything in it belongs to the Lord, and it was given to us to care for it.