Social Justice: The Environment (Global Warming: Fact or Fiction)
Read Genesis 1:28
There is a lot of debate out there on global warming. Is it really man-made, is it natural. Or a little bit of both. In the end there are believers that think Global Warming is a fact and others that believe it is fiction or hoax. The truth is, it really does not matter which side of the debate we are on because God has already handled the question of the environment for us.
Genesis 1:28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”
We are to fill the earth and govern it. I don’t know about you but to me governing the earth means being a good steward and taking care of what God has placed in our care. We have a calling to make a difference and inspire others to do the same. It reminds me of an old story.
A storm came into a beach town and the waves from the storm were washing starfish upon the shore by the hundreds. An old man from the town was walking along the beach picking up each one he came across and threw it back into the water. A small group of teenagers saw the old man at work but each time he threw a starfish back into the water, 10 more would wash ashore. After watching for a while the group approached the man and asked him, “What difference does it make to throw these starfish back in the water? For every one you throw back 10 more wash ashore. You aren’t making a difference.”
The old man smiled and picked up another starfish and as he threw it back in the water he said, “For this one it makes all the difference!”
Wow, think about this and us. We are to govern or be good stewards of the earth that God has entrusted us with. That means we need to make a difference and be good stewards when it comes to the environment. Maybe that means taking a trash bag and cleaning up the dirtier areas of town, cleaning up your school, or the park. Maybe it means picking up a starfish and throwing it back into the water.
I always think about the starfish story and I wonder, what would have happened if 9 more people would have joined the old man, or 20, 50, or 100. Maybe he inspired the young people asking to pick up starfish and throw them back into the sea too.
Either way, we as believers need to set the example and inspire others to take care of the earth and what God has entrusted us with. You may feel like the old man at first, all alone in what you are doing, but leaders inspire others and as believers God has called us to lead the world in a better direction not follow it to destruction.
