Mother Nature

“Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; replenish the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” Genesis 1:28

Over the past decade I have watched with increasing interest the debate over the state of the earth and whether or not man is or is not to blame. I have finally decided to attempt to put into writing my thoughts on the earth and what mankind’s relationship with her entails.

First off there is the title, “Mother Nature” which I will address. I find the term in theory to be accurate biblically based on the following verse: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7 Technically, while not giving the earth credit for creating us, we do issue from her substance and as such we hold a somewhat mystical tie to her. But this is the extent of what should have been her rule over us. In Genesis 1:28 we are told what is to be the order of relationship between mankind and earth. She is our domain and we are to replenish her. In close observance, the relationship between man and earth which God instituted is extremely sacred and intimate.

Let me put it into a different perspective. Think of the earth as our wife. We are to care for her, replenish her, love her, and bring her happiness. Any gardener can tell you that the more you attempt to beat your land into submission the less return you will get from it. There is much delicacy and tenderness in the art of gardening and harvesting from the earth. We cannot run around punching holes in her and stealing her resources without replacing what we have taken. It’s rather like a love bank. You cannot empty someone’s bank without attempting to refill it and expect to maintain the relationship. Such actions are selfish abuse. There is a saying, “Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned”. I am afraid the earth fits very well into this stereotype. When we misuse her, she reacts. She is angry and she is hurt. Now I do not attribute personality to the earth to in some way deify her but merely to emphasize the point that she is alive.

Over the last century science has served us well in discovering and proving some of the previously disregarded truths surrounding nature. We discovered that animals have emotions, feelings; that they experience pain. When we discovered and grasped this concept we fell into accountability to no longer mistreat the animal kingdom but to care for and nurture it. Today we are coming into an even starker realization that the earth too experiences pain and suffering. The question then comes into play of who is causing this pain. Now it would seem that some within the scientific community have, as of late, abused the trust of the public and propagated the issue of global warming. It is my opinion that there is no such thing as global warming but that there is such thing as the earth reacting to her mistreatment. I think (until science proves otherwise) that the extremes of “climate change” will continue with greater intensity until we cease to misuse the earth and her resources. But I do not think this is merely a matter confined to climate but is inclusive of all nature’s unleashed wrath: earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, hurricanes, etc. The more selfish our ambitions become, the greater our sin, the greater her anger.

God did not create the earth to die. When man fell in the Garden of Eden and died spiritually, he forever sealed the fate of the earth in his destiny to die. So at its source, man is indeed responsible for the death of the earth. But what does that mean for us? Do we continue to let the earth die? Did God continue on His course and simply allow man to die? No. He developed a plan to restore to us that which was lost. God’s entire pattern throughout Scripture appears to be one of bringing wholeness and restoration to that which is broken and lost; to mend broken relationships with Him and with others. If we are attempting to follow in His footsteps then should we also be finding ways to provide healing and restoration to the earth; to mend the relationship between man and earth? Based on the charge in Genesis to care for and replenish the earth it would seem that such actions would fall under our responsibility.

Another question I asked myself was whether or not the earth could feel. After studying a passage from Hosea I came to the conclusion that, at least based on Scripture, yes the earth can feel and express in some manner and that God hears and validates those expressions. “’It shall come to pass in that day, That I will answer,’ says the Lord; ‘I will answer the heavens, And they shall answer the earth. The earth shall answer with grain, with new wine, and with oil; They shall answer Jezreel (God sows).’” Hosea 2:21-22 Logically, one cannot answer or respond to something inanimate therefore the earth and the heavens are animate and God hears them and answers and responds to them. This is a very profound relationship we see here and we have scientific evidence that such a relationship exists between heaven and earth. The more we pollute our air the greater impact we see on the earth. And to make matters even scarier… God sees it all and cares enough to respond about it! If you still doubt God’s degree of concern over the earth then examine the purpose behind the Sabbath. Jesus is pretty emphatic about the idea that the Sabbath was created for man. Well guess what… God gave the earth a Sabbath too. So He must care about the earth and her use/abuse. If you care to see the repercussions of using the earth without sabbatical provisions then all you have to do is look at the dustbowl phenomenon of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

I must say, I am slightly embarrassed that the Church has not been on the forefront of the environmental movement. But I think I am beginning to understand how that happened and where we erred in judgment. The Church wasn’t always so indifferent to matters of nature. We took seriously our task to cultivate the land and be fruitful and multiply. But something began to happen in the world that closely accompanied a complimentary movement in the Church. It was the industrial age. The industrial age was one of the fastest growing surges in history but brought along with it severe damage to the earth and her resources. What accompanied this age was the inception of an internal Church movement known as fundamentalism. Now when I speak of fundamentalism I am not talking about the basis of our faith but of the fundamentals we began to embrace in matters of eschatology. Fundamentalism in this sense dictated that the earth would eventually see its end but that we, Christians, would not be here to see it; that we would escape all of that. Whether or not the outlook is correct is not the issue, it is the mindset the view plants in the believer. When environmental issues arise we think to ourselves, “Who cares… we’re outta here anyway when the end arrives. Why waste my time on saving the earth? God doesn’t care about the earth, He only cares about souls.” Well, according to Hosea that’s not true. God cares about the earth and He hears her plight. Taking that view into account I have another proposal which also comes from Scripture.

“There fore He said: ‘A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. So he called ten of his servants delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come’… And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’…” Luke 19:12-27

The story continues on. I am sure most of us have read it. My point in citing this parable in particular is this: I see the earth as being a “talent” God gave to mankind. Whether or not we leave it before whatever destruction occurs is not the issue. The issue is, if you believe that God will in some manner provide, create, restore… whatever, a new earth, then will the measure of that new earth be determined by how faithful we were with the first “talent” God gave to us to care for? I’m not convinced He’s simply going to create a new world, look at what we did to the old one and say, “Here you go, guys. Have at this one”. But if we are intent on loving God and obeying His commands, we will take the very first command He gave to us much more sincerely, and attempt to do just that instead of adopting this attitude of escapism. I challenge you today to think about what part you can play in making this earth a better and safer place. Imagine the witness we could have to world if they saw how much we cared for others and their future by caring for the environment.