Jennifer Manu November 18, 2012 Current Issues Bible 11-5

Environmental Awareness and Protection

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good (Genesis 1:31). Global warming, pollution, and protecting endangered species are all pressing matters that have been specially emphasized in the last couple of years. I believe that as Christians, we have been given the charge of taking care of the world and being shepherds of Gods creation. He gave us this special, beautiful gift of His creation and we should be careful about it. After spending six days creating the world, God looked at everything that he had made and declared that it was very good. It was his special work of art, his creation, and he poured out His wonderful creativity on it all and blessed it. His footprint is on and in all things and all things were created by Him. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that He had made everything beautiful in its time. Absolutely everything that God created on this earth is beautiful to Him and therefore we should take care of it. To make it clearer, image a little boy. He takes his color pencils, his paint brush, and starts painting on a huge canvas. He declares that this is the most beautiful thing that he is ever going to make, his best piece of work. He spends day and night on this painting, oozing of creativity and crying with joy at the beauty that he is creating. He looks at it all when it is finished, and decides that it is perfect. He is so excited about his creation that he goes to the person he loves the most, his sister, and gives it to her. She sees the picture and finds it beautiful. As time passes, however, she gets tired of the picture and loses the passion she had for it to begin with. She slowly starts pulling off pieces of the canvas to use for other things. The little boy sees it and his heart breaks. This is his creation, his gift to her, and she doesnt value it as much as she should. We are the sister and God is the little boy. He has given us a gift and we trample all over it and dont give it the care that it deserves for selfish reasons.

Jennifer Manu November 18, 2012 Current Issues Bible 11-5 Then God said, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the seas and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. (Genesis 1:26) The very first task that God gave to us humans was to glorify Him by taking care of His creation. If we do not care for nature and the environment, we are directly disobeying God command. By driving cars everywhere, littering, and not being careful, we are destroying the world little by little. Numbers 35:33a-34 says Do not pollute the land where you areDo not defile the land where you live and where I dwell, for I, the Lord, dwell among the Israelites. Here is a verse that directly says that we should not pollute or defile the world because it is both ours and Gods dwelling place. Leviticus 25:23-24 says The land should not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land. Going back to the story of the little boy and his sister, the little boy was still the owner of the painting, but he gave it to his sister to take care of and she didnt. We have been given the earth as a possession to take care of and when we misuse it or are not careful with it, we are breaking Gods trust. He entrusted us with the care of the earth from the beginning and we need to remain trustworthy. My final reason to why we should care for the earth and now defile and pollute it is because the artwork is a map or depiction of the artist. The earth, being Gods creation, is a picture of His wonder and majesty. Psalm 19:1-4 says The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun. The very heavens and skies and all underneath scream of the wonder and glory of God. Job 12:7-10 But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all

Jennifer Manu November 18, 2012 Current Issues Bible 11-5 mankind. The life of every creature and the breath of all mankind is in His hand. If the life of everything is in His hand, shouldnt we care for it with best of our abilities, when he has given us such an important task?