Our Father’s World
While browsing the news this week I came across some sad news. Tam, one of the last remaining Sumatran Rhinos, has died. I guess it’s not really up there with some of the really terrible stuff in the news but it is symptomatic of how humans, as a whole, are treating the earth.
There are only about 80 of these Rhinos left in the wild and it is with some irony that this particular Rhino was ‘rescued’ after being found roaming a palm oil plantation – ironic because the plantation in question was probably encroaching on its natural habitat.
You could probably name several more critically endangered species off the top your head. It probably wouldn’t surprise you to find that earlier this month the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) said that “Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history – and the rate of species extinctions is accelerating”.
Their report goes into astonishing detail about ocean dead zones due to dumped toxic waste, the warming of the globe due to greenhouse gas emissions and unsustainable farming, fishing and energy production practices. Most of us are also familiar with the discussion around climate change ( I think it’s fair to say that it is no longer a debate).
It does make todays’ Christian think about our role as custodians of the environment as described by the Psalmist:
O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!
Your glory is higher than the heavens.
You have taught children and infants
to tell of your strength,
silencing your enemies
and all who oppose you.
When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
the moon and the stars you set in place—
what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
human beings that you should care for them?
Yet you made them only a little lower than God
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You gave them charge of everything you made,
putting all things under their authority—
the flocks and the herds
and all the wild animals,
the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
and everything that swims the ocean currents.
O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!
– Psalm 8, NLT
I believe it is our responsibility to to reflect The Creator’s image in caring for the world He so lovingly crafted.
We may not have the power to influence global leaders in environmental decision-making but we can certainly make the right decisions in our sphere of influence – as the old adage goes – Think globally, act locally!
