The Earth & The Environmental Issue

Like most people, I'd never thought much about environmental issues in the past. The only concept I had was the vague idea that we need to be better stewards of God's creation.

The Bible is quite direct about our responsibility to care for and protect the earth. In Genesis 2:15, God commands Adam to take care of it. According to many biblical scolars, we must not only be concerned with production, but also with the protection of God's creation. Dominion is never given for the purpose of exploitation. Other passages mention not only the goodness of creation connected to God (Genesis 1), but also His identification with creation and its renewal (Col. 1:15–17, Isaiah 65:17 and Rev. 21:1). In fact, Scripture references the earth 863 times, compared with 494 references to heaven and 537 to love.

We also have the responsibility to the poor and disadvantaged, those who would most likely be impacted by implications of climate change.

Most Christians are among the world's wealthiest citizens, and they are under pastoral leadership. So it's pastors who have the opportunity to make a significant impact. And it's the pastor who takes the lead in mobilizing his or her congregation to care for matters outside the church—issues that non-Christians also care about. Let's face it, they're not expecting the Church to be concerned about the environment, much less take visible action.

The followings are some of the things that I've been learning recently about how to tackle climate change:

1. Replace all light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs.
2. Reduce, reuse, recycle.
3. Minimise energy usage.
4. Buy energy-efficient products, think energy savings.
5. Don't leave the water running even when showering, shaving, washing your face or brushing your teeth.
7. Track your utilities.
8. Commit to tackling climate change.
9. Look for creative ways to link conservation with love of God and neighbor. For a Christian, these acts are about moral obedience and love, not cultural conformity.

So how do you think that your congregation, church and faith community is involved in these environemntal issues?