Tough Questions by Craig Andrus
Question: Hello Pastor Craig! Everybody today seems to be on the “save the planet” environmental kick. What does God think about it? – Brandon
Answer: Dear Brandon, Great question! Since the Lord God created and owns everything anyway, He does have some definitive thoughts about environmentalism given to us in His Word, the Bible. The Bible states that, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof!” This planet is not ours… it’s His! The key word used over and over again in Scripture concerning earthly resource is “stewardship.” None of us own anything… including the earth’s resources and its environment. We are simply called to be good stewards of this planet where God has placed us. Naturally, the Lord desires for us to manage the earth’s resources wisely, not selfishly squandering natural resource. If we all remembered the simple things that our mothers taught us as children such as: “Don’t leave a mess for someone else… Pick up after yourself…and, Don’t waste things” the world would be a much cleaner, safer place!
However… we must remember that “saving the planet” is not our ultimate purpose in life. Our ultimate purpose is to know and serve God here on earth, share that good news with others, and gain eternal life and heaven through relationship with Jesus Christ! A lot of folks today have forgotten why we exist, and so they have made “saving the planet” (environmentally) their ultimate goal.
As a result of this, many people today embrace a worldview called “naturalism.” This worldview believes the following about the most important questions of life:
“Why do we exist?” Naturalist answer: “We are a product of random acts of nature.”
“What is wrong with the world?” Naturalist answer: “We do not respect, and have damaged the nature that brought us about.”
“How do we fix the world?” Naturalist answer: =E 2. We can save the world through ecology and human effort.”
This worldview leads many to “worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator.” Any life that leaves out daily relationship with the Lord, and gives more attention to the creation rather than the Creator will never experience the abundant life Jesus has promised!
Let’s now contrast a naturalist worldview with a Biblical worldview:
“Why do we exist?” Biblical answer: “We are created by God to be in relationship with Him and to be good stewards of the world in which we live.”
“What is wrong with the world?” Biblical answer: “We have all sinned against God and subjected the whole world to a curse.”
“How do we fix the world? Biblical answer: “God has redeemed the world through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ.” A Christian worldview leads us to believe in moral absolutes, miracles, human dignity, good stewardship of earthly resources, and the assurance of redemption! A Biblical worldview covers good stewardship of everything and everybody on the planet!
If we put the Lord first, and put the principles concerning good stewardship that He gives us into practice; we can have harmonious relationship with Him AND be good stewards of our environment!
Remember… the Lord will someday restore creation to its former pristine state. Until then, let’s each be good stewards of our earthly home in every way we can, and put our relationship with God through Jesus Christ first in our lives!
Blessings! - Pastor Craig
Send Questions to toughquestions@sierramountaintimes.com.
