Why Christians Should Care About the Environment

Mark 12:28-34..."And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions."

I don't think anyone would disagree with me if I said that it would be hard to exagerate the importance of this passage in the life of a follower of Jesus. If you do disagree, then you should stop reading this because I am about to base much of what I will say off of this passage.

Here are some facts:

• Over 40% of all tropical rainforests have been destroyed and another acre is lost each second.
• While the U.S.A. makes up only 5% of the world's population, we use 33% of the world's resources and produce 72% of all hazardous waste.
• In 13 of 15 of the world's major fishing zones, harvests have shrunk by an average of 30% because of overfishing
• Roughly 70,000 people die prematurly in America from heart & lung disearse aggravated by air polution.
• More that 100 million Americans live in areas where the air is classified by the EPA as unsafe to breath
• One-half of America's lakes and rivers are too polluted to be safe for swimming or drinking
• Raw seage runoff has caused 8000 beach closures or advisories in America in the last five years
• Americans use 1,000,000 gallons of oil every two minutes.

It took me only ten minutes to find these facts, and I haven't even mentioned the third world countries who feel these effects even more dramatically that we do.

Historically speaking, such a large and massive environmental problem is very new. It has come to the point that it absolutely demands a response from the Christian community, yet Christians have been very slow to respond, or at worst made fun of those who are concerned about the problem. About the only time most Christians hear anything from other Christians about the creation is in the context of "versus evolution." Because environmentalism has been championed by the far left, hippies, free spirited tree huggers, etc., most staight-laced Christians have side stepped the issue for fear of being lumped together with that group. This is tragic because the liberals, hippies, democrats, republicans, and everyone else should have to get in line behind Christians to defend creation.

The only attempt I have come across at a Christian response to the environmental crisis goes something like this: Creation has fallen along with humanity, been made corrupt by sin and sinful men, and will be destroyed in the end times and then be remade again. Therefore, it would be foolish and shortsighted to worry too much about this temporary world.

While agree with much of this, I think that this argument is not only feeble and foolish itself, but dangerous as well. If Christ delays in returning, history will look back on fundamental, anit-environmental Christians with the same contempt as the "Christians" of the Spanish Inquisition and The Salem Witch Trials. We will have shamed our God, Master, LORD, Creator, and Teacher.

I am going to do my best here to actually formulate an argument, from the Bible, that God does not want us to burn down the house He gave us to live in. Not only that, but caring for the environment is intimately connected to the greatest commandment. In the 21st century and beyond, I believe it will be impossible to live out the Christian life rightly without being concerned about the environment.

So, the first part of the greatest commandment as shown above in Mark...Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength...how does it relate to the environmental concerns of our age? Well, this is how:

• God is the Creator of all things (Genesis 1, Pslam 24:1-2)
• Creation belongs to God, not to us (1 Chronicles 29:11)
• Creation praises God (Pslam 19:1)
• God's Wisdom and Power are seen in nature (Romans 1:20)
• Creation was given to humans aas stewards and caretakers (Genesis 1, Pslam 8:6-8)
• Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, was creator with God (Colossians 1:16-17)

If my girlfriend was an artist and I told her that I loved her, but then cared little for her creations and worse, took part in the destruction of those creations, you would not say that I truly loved her, and you would be right.

You'll hear some say that God gave us dominion over creation to subdue it. Well, dominion is a good, but archaic word. It means control. If you let a friend borrow your car, you give him dominion over it. If that friend carelessly wrecked it and couldn't understand why that upset you and he used the argument that, "You gave me dominion over it," you would still be ticked, and you would have every right to be so. In a similar way, reading those passages of the Bible that speak of "dominion" and "subduing the earth" as meaning that it doesn't matter how we treat the earth is terribly misguided, and I would say absolutely wrong. If you love the Creator, then take care of creation.

Now the second part of the commandment, "Love your neighbor as yourself." How does this apply to the environment? Well, first let's define neighbor. Jesus, in the parable of the Good Samaritan, defines neighbor as anyone who needs your help that you are able to help. So, with that definition, in today's global society for a well-off American, that means nearly anyone.

Environmental degredation is a global human (think neighbor) issue. Problems like pollution, deforestation, biosystem destruction, etc. are primarlily liked to poor use and stewardship of creation. The actions of both the wealthy and the poor are responsible, yet the poor suffer most -- i.e. our neighbors.

For example, communities that rely on agriculture (esp. in 3rd world countries) can go hungry if polluted rain water causes diminished crop returns. Pesticides and industrial waste kills fish stocks upon entering water supplies. This especially harms poor communities that depend on fish. When trees are cut down from slopes, the soil becomes unstable and can cause landslides. Erosion into rivers caused by deforestation can cause flooding further downstream, again affecting communities that live near water resources. I recently heard a missionary from Kenya say that if environmental degredation in that country continues at its present rate, then it will soon kill more people than AIDS.

It is time for Christians, in the name of the beauty of Christ, the Glory of God, and love for neighbor, to turn around and swim upstream. The way we view and treat the environment says something to the watching world about how we feel about our Creator, and dramatically impacts our neighbors all over the world. Find a way to care. Find a way to make a difference.