Creation Care is part and parcel of the Great Commission and the Great Commandment

     We all depend on a healthy world.  As 6.8 billion human beings seek to satisfy their needs and desires on an ever-shrinking planet, it should not surprise us that the issue of environmental stewardship or “creation care” is part of our global conversation.
     While climate change dominates the discussion, hundreds of lesser known and less controversial environmental issues are coming to a head.
     Marine species we used to think were infinite in number are vanishing at alarming rates.  Half of the world’s primates are in danger of extinction.  Frogs and bees are disappearing.  Fresh water is becoming increasingly scarce.  Deforestation is reducing rainfall, soil fertility, and water resources in many parts of the world.  In light of these realities, what is our role as Christians?

     From the very beginning, caring for the earth that God created has been a fundamental part of our role.
     In Genesis 2:15, Adam is placed in the garden to serve and protect it.  Throughout the Old Testament we are reminded that “the Earth is the Lord’s” and that our role is one of stewardship - temporary caretakers who will one day be called to account for how well we have discharged our duties.  This is reinforced in Revelation 11:18, which says Judgement Day will bring the destruction of those who destroy the earth.
     Scripture also indicates a direct correlation between the behavior of humans and the health of the earth.  The ground is cursed as a result of Adam’s sin.  Later, in the story of the Flood, human sin results in the destruction of most life on earth.  What is spared is saved through the active participation of Noah.  In Jeremiah 12:4 and many other passages, we see the land and its creatures suffering as a direct result of sin.
     “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life”(Gen3:17).  Much of the world has gone to great ends to mitigate the consequences of the Adamic curse.  We have distanced ourselves from the physical labor of producing food (and with that brought a number of unintended consequences).  But for hundreds of millions of subsistence and near-subsistence farmers worldwide, the curse’s “painful toil” is a fundamental aspect of life.
     …It is more than an issue of obedience and humility.  Environmental stewardship is also a justice issue.  There is no need to prioritize between love of neighbor and care for God’s creation.
     In the United States and Europe, it is easy to forget that the earth is our life-support system.  For too many of us, water comes in plastic bottles, and food comes from a supermarket.  We see the environment as a luxury.
     Yet the poorest people in the world are not so insulated.  When the rain doesn’t come, people starve.  When soil erodes, families go hungry.  When water gets polluted, children get intestinal diseases.  When all the trees are cut down, women walk hours for firewood.  When the land is deforested, watersheds no longer function, causing rivers and streams to dry up.  When the rain does come, deadly landslides ensue.  For most of these people…their soil and their water are virtually their only assets.  Preserving and sustainably using those assets, so as not to further degrade those ecosystems -serving creation as stewards- becomes central to serving those people.
     …God calls us to participate in nature, contributing to and ensuring its fruitfulness.  We have little choice as to whether we will interact with creation.  But we can choose whether our interactions will be life-giving or death-dealing.  Our citizenship in God’s kingdom should inform this choice. 

Excerpts taken from “Whole Earth Evangelism” by Scott Sabin, Christianity Today July 2010