CHRISTIANITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Southeast Idaho. Photo by Gene Curl.
For as long as I can remember I have had a great love and respect for the outdoors, and I always stood in awe at the beauty of God’s creation. From a young age my mother taught me to leave everyplace better than I found it, both out of respect for those who would visit after me and for God who created it. Even now, whenever I go camping or fishing or when I go on a walk, I pick up other people’s trash and dispose of it properly, and to the best of my ability I try to leave no trace. I have always cared about keeping the water and air clean, and I have always cared about the preserving the beauty of the wilderness and saving the habitat for the wildlife that life there.
I think it would be a fair statement to call me an environmentalist, but I am in no way extreme, and to be honest, I don’t think man-made climate change is a real thing and some people may make me the villain for that and say that I am a science denier, however, the same people who are saying that are denying the aspects of science they don’t agree with. I am not saying that the climate is not changing or that people are not horribly polluting the earth, just that the impacts of human activities are given far too much weight considering how small of a time we have actually been here and how many warming and cooling cycles the earth has had up to this point. Honestly though, it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things whether or not I believe in man-made climate change because I am a huge proponent of clean air and water, and regardless of whether or not human actions contribute to climate change, I am a firm believer that we should all do our part to conserve precious resources and keep the air and water clean so we don’t kill ourselves and our children and the myriad of other beautiful life forms that God put on earth. There is a false dichotomy when it comes to the environment; either you hate humans and think we need to get rid of automobiles, electricity and all modern conveniences to save the planet, even if we don’t remain on it, or you are a horrible person who could not care less about the fate of he world so long as you make enough money. The truth is that we can both protect the environment and live in relative comfort. We don’t have to choose between the economy or the environment, and we don’t have to choose between freedom and the environment.
There are some Christians who believe it is no big deal to pollute the air and water and otherwise destroy nature because they think God will just come and clean it up at some point anyway, but there are so many problems with that mindset, one of which is an extreme ingratitude to the God of the universe. Imagine if your children decided to have a wild party and destroy your house while you were out of town because they knew you would fix it when you got home. Would you be happy with your children for destroying the house and leaving a mess for you to clean up? I would wager that you would be furious and would feel completely disrespected. If you are a Christian you should believe that God can and will set all things right someday, but you absolutely should not intentionally or through neglect make more of a mess to clean up, and in the process make life difficult for those who come after you. If you are pouring your used oil into the street drains or in the river, or if you are duping your trash along side of the road or in the forest, you are not a good Christian or a good person.
While it is true that the Bible says the earth was made for man and everything was man’s to rule over, it also says that God made man the stewards of earth, and the Bible is clear that God expects us to be good steward of anything and everything he put us in charge of. If God is upset with the servant who buried his talent, imagine the reaction to one who destroyed it.
“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
“The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
“Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
“‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Luke 25:14-30
Another parable that illustrates how God expects us to treat whatever he puts us in charge of is in Luke 12, and it also makes it clear how God feels about those who do not honor their commitment and repay the trust that was given.
The Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.
“The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
-Luke 12: 42-57
The Bible also says, “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever,” (1 Timothy 5:8 NIV), and polluting the air and poising the water is definitely not providing for your family, or at least not your descendants.
While it is extremely important to protect the earth, we should not revere or worship the earth because, despite what some people will tell you, the earth is a thing and not a sentient being and is definitely not a god. We are to worship God and God alone and to worship the earth, which is what a lot of environmental movements do, is to worship the created instead of the creator. Yes the earth is awesome and should be respected, but as awesome as it is, the one who created it is even more awesome.
Ultimately all things were created for the glory of God (Colossians 1:16), and it brings glory to God when we protect and respect the things he so graciously provided for us, but God is also a jealous God and strictly forbids us from worshiping anything but him Exodus 20:4-5).
Some people who worship earth and nature make it more important than humanity, but the earth was made for man, not the other way around. Also, I see little point in trying to save the earth if if means we will all die, but luckily those are not the only choices, far from it. There is no reason we can’t be good stewards and protect the earth and still remain on it and fully enjoy the things God gave us.