Creation Cries Out

I am not an environmentalist. Going Green to me seems more like getting green ($) for upstart companies. However, I do take seriously what God says in Genesis, "Be fruitful and subdue the Earth." (Genesis 1:28). To subdue is to put to order and take care of. In Eden man and nature were connected. We were to caretakers and protectors of God's other creations. Animals did not fear us, nay Adam was free to name them all, so picture him holding birds in his hands, following ants to their hills, and swimming with sharks. Once there was peace between all of God's creation. Animals were harmless and did not need to be domesticated to be friendly towards mankind. Then on that fateful day, everything changed. Adam and Eve made decision that not only effected every generation of men, it effected all creation. One bite of the forbidden destroyed the harmony of all living things.

Now in the fallen world, man and nature are at war. We erect our steel and wood structure, while making the once lush wilderness and woodlands desolate. Animals instinctually fear us and flee when we come into contact with us; as if we were a Viking with bow and sword in hand. We also have cause for fear. Bears, lions, tigers, and sharks can eat us. Even vegetarian creatures like Elephants and Rhinos can crush and gorge us. It is sad God's children and creatures are at odds. That sin not only separated us from God, but also from His animals.

There are some who have the Edenic charm with creation. People like the late Steve Irwin had a connection with creatures. For the average person, domestication is the closest they get. Owning a dog, cat, or bird is a shadow of what was meant to be. The deep bonds we create with our pets was meant to be our relationship with all the creatures of this Earth. It says in the Scriptures, "All creation waits with anticipation for the sons of God to reveal themselves." (Romans 8:19). That is us, Christian believers. It is not mankind alone that wishes to be saved from sin. The animal kingdom and plant life are waiting for the Day of the Lord. They are waiting for the world to be saved and for Jesus to Return so that Eden II (The New Earth) can come into being.

Some believe that there will be no animals in the next world. To that I provide the Prophet Isaiah's words, "In those days the lion will lay with the lamb, the wolf with the sheep and the child will play with the adder (snake) and he will not be harmed." (Isaiah 11:6-8). I also would argue that if God's first plan for paradise was to have a planet full of diverse life forms, then why wouldn't paradise regained be the same?

At the present moment, we are to be concerned with this earth: paradise lost. People are multiplying to the point that there is not sufficient shelter to house them. I have seen a rural farm country turned into a city. The hillside, fields, and forests are being raised and plowed over to build homes. The wild life is fleeing from the homes that generations of their kind have lived in over the eons. Those ancient trees have been felled that once housed fledglings and fowl of all kinds. The Squirrels and skunks who made their dens on the mountain side for over many millenniums now must forage and live in the suburbs. Do not mistake my sentiments, I am not shaming people for erecting houses. However, I am dismayed for the wild life. The great sanctums of nature are being lost. The forests and mountain trails become private property, and the animals that lived as they did in Eden and after Eden, are now are being evicted.

I wonder what life would be like if paradise had not been lost. Would we have built shelters at all? Would we have been content to call God's earth our home and used only tents like the Bedouins? It would not have rained and the weather would have stayed 72 degrees Fahrenheit (before ozone opened, the temperature of the Earth was perfect and the planet life was watered from under the soil).

There has to be a balance. A means to preserve nature and provide housing for people. I am not advocating save the animals at the expense or suffering of man. However, I think as the subduers and caretakers of this planet, we should make some effort to take responsibility for God's creation. We are after all the sons of God, and we should care about everything that belongs to God. It is difficult to speak on this subject and issue without coming across as a radical environmentalist. I can assure you that I do not believe in forestalling building a highway because of butterflies. But building lavish mansions and villas just to suite our own vanity and need for excessive space at the expense of God's creation is careless. Yes, it is fine to like certain homes and square footage, but be realistic. Are you really going to use twenty two rooms? Do you need nine bathrooms?

The more content we are in Christ, the less we need to be comfortable. St. Paul said, "I am happy with much, and happy with little." (Philippians 4:12). This should be our attitude. We should stop being seduced by the commercialism and dreams of giant castles. If you desire to build a castle or mansion, then do so if that is indeed something you believe worthwhile. Most castles in the Middle Ages were surrounded by forests and creation. There was a harmony between stone and stag. The Medievalists knew to respect the rest of God's creation. They took seriously hunting, for it meant feeding their family. Many hunt now to acquire trophies, and thus many species such as the Elephant, Tiger, and Great White are going extinct. I am in favor of hunting to feed yourself and your family, but trophy hunting is vanity. Mounting a dead beast on your wall feeds only an ego, not the stomachs of the starving.

I pray that Jesus come quickly before we have turned this planet into one big metropolis with small parks that contain the only remnant of God's architecture. There are some that say that day will never happen, but when man populates to the point that it need high rises, skyscrapers and suburbs all over the Earth, it will be too late. Once you destroy creation, it cannot come back. The dinosaurs are no more. We merely find their bones. There is plant life too that is gone. Will our children's children dig up fossils of tigers and look at pictures of the once ancient oaks and redwood trees? This should be a warning. We should tread carefully and consider the far reaching consequences of our choices.