The Environmental Crisis
The Worldwatch Institute produces an annual report entitled ‘State of the World’. This year the report emphasises the need to educate children about the vital importance of the natural environment, encouraging them to see the need to work with it, to be custodians of it, to be careful not to exploit it. Many countries of the world encourage schools to hold lessons outdoors in woods and forests in all kinds of weather. Imaginative projects are undertaken which stimulate the children’s interest for caring for the world in which they live.
The sin of greed and selfishness is the basic cause of the great crisis our planet faces. God says:
“For every beast of the forest is mine,
And the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know all the birds of the mountains,
And the wild beasts of the field are mine …
For the world is mine, and all its fullness.”
(Psalm 50:10-12)
The Law given by God to Moses and the people of Israel stresses care for the environment and animals. The most significant principles enshrined in the Law show that we have a duty to manage our planet for its Creator and Owner, God Himself.
In modern times this principle has been forgotten, and the main aim of many is to get rich without any care for the effect it may have on our world. Is there an answer to this crisis?
So far we have stressed that sin is the principle reason why the planet is in such a mess.
We have to go to the Bible to understand what sin is. God’s Book tells us about the consequences of sin, its removal and God’s offer of salvation to all who try to follow His law. Because of the sin of disobedience Adam and Eve were condemned to die and the ground was cursed.
“Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground , For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:17-18)
The apostle Paul wrote: “the creation was subjected to futility , not willingly , but because of him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” (Romans 8:20-21)
Here we read that God has promised that one day bondage and corruption will disappear on this planet. When Jesus returns to set up His Father’s Kingdom He will give His faithful followers everlasting life. All of God’s creation will be liberated when Jesus comes back. There are many detailed and glowing pictures of that age in God’s Word.
“The days are coming“ says the Lord, “When the ploughman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows seed.” (Amos 9:13)
“The mountains will bring peace to the people,
And the little hills, by righteousness.
He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing,
Like showers that water the earth.”
(Psalm 72:3 & 6)
“The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.”
(Isaiah 35:1)
May we prepare for that wonderful time!
Quotes from the NKJV.
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