The bulldozers came while we were away. I’m glad I was not here to see it. A beautiful tract of tall, majestic trees were bulldozed for new houses. That place is ugly now! As armies used to follow a “scorched earth” policy, developers follow a ‘scraped earth” policy. With every hedgerow that is removed, a dozen different kinds of birds lose their nesting place. The deer are being squeezed out of all their hiding places and live along the roadways. The bears are having a hard time finding enough to eat in their shrinking domain. Not to mention that each time we fell a tree we destroy another air cleaner.
Do we have an answer for this? Genesis 2:15 (NIV) says “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Are we taking care of the earth?
No one wants to impede progress and no one wants to hinder development that will then offer more jobs and business opportunities to the people who will move in, but where does it take us after that? Politicians may debate “global warming” and the like but it is the citizens who must begin to do more about protecting the environment. How many more plastic bags will it take? How much more trash in the rivers before we hear a wakeup call.
You know, I think we Christians bear the biggest responsibility in caring for the earth. Do you practice recycling in any form? Do you have lessons or sermons at church about our ‘stewardship” of the universe? How embarrassing that some of the most beautiful mountain peaks available for climbers are now overrun with trash left by the climbers.
I learned at a very young age to sing: “Fair are the meadows, Fairer still the woodlands, Robed in the blooming garb of spring; Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer, who makes the woeful heart to sing.” There is clearly a link between my worshipping the beauty of Jesus and my seeing His handiwork in nature. Why don’t you bring up that question this week in your Bible study class?
“O Creater God, You have made the world beautiful for us and sufficient for
all our needs. Teach us to stop trying to destroy what you have made. Amen”
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Pastor Charlie,
It is very interesting, and no coincidence I imagine, that I was thinking the very same thing in our "development" just this week -- they are beginning the last section of homes and just stripped the earth bare of all the beautiful trees. No shade, fewer birds singing, no barrier between houses and the main road. I've got to wonder why is we're "developing" the land we have to destroy it in the process?
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