World and Life articles
How does your Garden Grow?
Genesis 2:15 records that the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. Since that day much has changed. Adam’s sin and eviction from Eden not only destroyed his own enjoyment of God; it also initiated a downward spiral of decay, disease and death that would affect both his descendants and the natural world created by God as a dwelling place. Today, therefore, we are constantly learning of detrimental changes affecting our planet and the serious depletion of its finite resources. The curse of Genesis 3 with its promise of painful toil…thorns and thistles, together with the bondage to decay described by Paul, hold captive not only the human race but also its fragile environment.
Should we be concerned?
- Climate change is fiercely debated. Views range from an
irreversible and terminal
‘doomsday’ scenario on the one hand, to those who would have us
believe that current trends are merely evidence of repetitive cycles
of weather patterns that have alternately warmed and cooled our planet
over many centuries. The facts, however, are indisputable.
Desertification is on the increase with the Sahara moving southward
three miles each year. A rise in sea level has already rendered
low-lying agricultural land infertile in parts of Asia and forced
South Sea islanders to abandon their home in the Pacific. Nomadic
tribesmen in Siberia and Inuit Indians in NE Canada are also on the
move as permafrost and Arctic ice melts. Even now climatic change is
affecting communities around the world. -
The rapid depletion of finite resources such as oil, natural gas and even water is a serious problem. With 80% of the world’s oil coming from countries that are politically unstable and much of the gas we consume in Britain being piped across eastern Europe, we have good reason to be concerned. The threat of long-term water shortage is no longer a problem affecting central Africa alone. Here in the UK as industrial needs increase and new homes are built, water companies are hard pressed to meet the growing demand.
- The human destruction of natural habitat by deforestation, together with the hunting and over-fishing of certain species to the point of extinction is also causing irreversible damage to a fragile ecosystem. Plants with valuable scientific and medicinal properties are lost forever as the forests in which they grow are being destroyed in acts of environmental vandalism.
- Finally, and perhaps closest to home for many in the west, there is a growing expectancy for an improving lifestyle. A larger (or additional) car, more labour saving devices for home and garden, and holidays further afield made possible by cut-price air travel are no longer available only to the affluent. Yet the appetite for such things not only widens the gap between the wealthy nations and those of the Third World, but further fuels the problems mentioned above. Vehicle emission and exhaust from jet aircraft are among the worst polluters of our atmosphere.
A brief Biblical perspective
The Bible opens with a perfect creation. Genesis 1 describes the creation of a universe in which God found pleasure and pronounced good. The world he made was to be a perfect environment for a perfect human race. He made everything beautiful in its time (Ecclesiastes 3:11), because he was a beautiful God. As a result the heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands (Psalm 19:1). Even after man’s fall into sin this revelation would continue. Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse (Romans 1:20).
God gave to Adam a solemn responsibility; namely, to be a good steward or husbandman of all that God had made and entrusted to him. The words subdue and have dominion over God’s creation (Genesis 1:28 AV) have led some to misrepresent God’s mandate and man’s subsequent attitude toward creation. God is not condoning exploitation by man here, but urging a beneficial rule or care (Genesis 2:15) that would cause the earth to flourish and increase in beauty.
Sadly, with Adam’s fall into sin, not only all humankind but the whole of creation would suffer a tragic loss. As a result of God’s condemnation and curse (Genesis 3:17-18) all that God had made perfect became subject to futility and frustration (Romans 8:20-21). However, this bondage to decay causing the earth to be restless and groan (v22) will one day cease, when both the children of God and creation itself will be liberated.
Therefore with hope we may anticipate a glorious redemption culminating in a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness (2 Peter 3:13).
The Christian response
With problems of such global proportions and countries like China and India, not to mention the United States responsible for far greater pollution than Great Britain whose carbon emissions amount to just 2% of the world total, what can we possibly do? Indeed, if we believe 2 Peter 3:11, are we to do anything but live holy and godly lives? Our inability to solve global problems, however, surely does nothing to negate personal responsibility. As Christians, therefore, we should endeavour to manage our homes, use our cars, and adopt a lifestyle that makes a minimal impact upon our environment. We will also pray for those in authority and use our democratic right to lobby politicians and influence government policy. In a sentence, we will seek the glory of the Creator, by showing appreciation, concern and care for all that he has made, and use every opportunity to point others to him by our own wonder at his handiwork.