The Theology of Ecology

The question always arises, "OK, we get it. He is the owner, and we are the stewards. It is His creation, not ours. We are responsible and accountable to care for it. So what do we do?"

Just as an Elementary Creation Care 101 start, let me give you a simple formula that I saw somewhere called "CPR." There are three things that all of us can do to show we are for creation. First of all, we can do all that we can to Clean creation as much as possible without substituting the creation for the Creator and acting in a responsible way that is best for the most people possible. We ought to do our part in keeping our air, water, land and natural resources as clean as possible. It can be as simple as not throwing garbage in a stream or as literal as deciding to give up smoking.

We also can Pick Up. I am continuously amazed, even around the grounds of this church, how people walk by garbage and trash and not even bother to pick it up. It sounds simple, but just drive up and down your neighborhood streets and highways and see for yourselves.

Then we can do something that my son finally got me started on several years ago—we  can Recycle. We don't have to pollute this world with our garbage. We can find better and more constructive use even for trash itself.

Let me close this story and one last truth. One of the angriest times I've ever had in my life was when I walked into a home years ago, when my first son was just a baby, to find that somebody had broken into my home and robbed my family. My house was trashed. My clothes were thrown everywhere, and some very valuable personal items that belonged to me were stolen. I literally felt raped and violated.

How much more does God feel the same way when we rape, rob, pillage and trash the world  He gave us to tend and to care for? You cannot glorify the Creator at the same time you heap contempt on the creation. As followers of Christ, we believe Jesus Christ is not only Lord of the church, but He is Lord of creation. If that is true, then what happens anywhere in this creation and to the creation must be of interest—spiritually and biblically—to those of us who are His followers.

One last thought: If we are to care for a world that is temporary, how much more should we care for our souls that are eternal? God created this world for us to live in; He created us to live with Him. Jesus Christ died for the world—not the physical world but the people world. He was raised from the dead, not to live in this physical world, but to live in us. When you take care of God's most valuable creation—your soul—that is the greatest creation care of all!