“The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” -Genesis 2:15 NIV And so it began. The first activity God assigned man was to take care of the environment. If we think that the command was only for the garden of Eden, we have to look at some of the commands the Lord gave to Moses.
There are several commands regarding tending the land. Most notable is the Sabbath’s year rest for the land. This is a technique that had to be rediscovered. Over-farming had destroyed many a farm. Some blame this in part to the early 20th century dust bowl. Allowing the land to rest, allows it to recover. God expects us to be great stewards of His earth. We should not be trashing our earth. We need to be mindful of how our actions can affect the environment. We have a great responsibility.
But we can not fall into panic. A recent book by a radical environmentalist shocked a lot of people. It is titled, Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All. He wrote it in response to seeing his own child in a total panic and worried that she was gonna die soon due to climate change. Responsibility is different from mindless panic. But so many people are in a panic, my feeling, because they don’t know God. God is in control. We are to do our part and be good stewards of the earth but we also need to trust in God. Jesus said it this way,
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear…. Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? …. See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you – …. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” -Matthew 6:25-34 NIV
