THE GOOD NEWS COMES CLOSER

 

Deuteronomy 10:12-14; Psalm 89:8-15; John 1:1-3

Introduction

From the beginning of the world, God created all things and had the sole responsibility for their wellbeing. On the seventh day, after creating man - male and female, God gave everything to humanity saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” … Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit..." Genesis 1:28-29 (ESV). In addition, "The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it." Genesis 2:15 (ESV). By these acts of God, humanity was given the responsibility to preserve the entire environment and make it better.

Again, man had a role to play in creation when God "brought them [all that He created] to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name..." Genesis 2:19-20 (ESV). Naming someone or something is the key act of taking the onus responsibility to keep, protect, and develop to make them better of at every given time.

Though the catchphrase, "cleanliness is next to godliness" in principle, dates back to the days of God's instructions to the Israelites, it is ascribed to John Wesley, the founder of Methodism since he often emphasized this in preaching. He basically indicated that it is the responsibility of every Christian to preserve the environment for God's glory.

In considering the role of the Christian in preserving the environment, I would say, it is very important for the dominion mandate God placed on us from the beginning of time.

God's Expectation

When people are given charges, there is an expectation placed on them. So my Christian brethren, "What does the Lord our God require of us in respect to the environment." (Deut. 10:12-14)

• To fear Him
• To walk in all His ways
• To love Him
• To serve Him with all your heart and soul
• To keep His commands and statutes

God expects that all that belongs to Him are protected and cared for to be fruitful in multiplication. (Gen. 1:28-31). 

As Christians, we cannot leave the instructions of God and do otherwise. When we revere, love, and serve Him, then we would do the same for all that belongs to Him, "Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it." Deuteronomy 10:14 (ESV)

The Psalmist affirms God's authority over all creation saying, "The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it, you have founded them." Psalms 89:11 (ESV). Our guiding principles as Christians call on us to desist from all activities that destroy what God has founded and preserve them. 

Think of this, 'Is it possible for a believer to be denied entry into God's Kingdom because of the person's destruction of the environment?

Growing up in a Presbyterian School, we were always greeted with our beautiful flowered environment. We spent time tilting our environment - checking erosions, planting trees, growing our gardens, and keeping the environment as clean as ever. We did this in our Sections - blue, green, red, and yellow. I believe one of the motivating factors was the marks that were awarded to see which Section would be first, and the euphoria of teasing the last Section members. Fond memories, but sadly, the story has changed today, Oh! good old days.

From the creation story, God made humanity, His caretakers or stewards to take care of all that He made including ourselves.

God, from the beginning, has networked all creation together. It is scientifically discovered that plants produce the oxygen that mammals need to survive, whiles plants also take in the carbon dioxide that mammals give out. So we say, "When the last tree dies, the last man also dies." In effect, our survival in the ecosystem depends on the care we give to the environment. This is the expectation of God.

Our network with the environment has no limitations. Floods, water and air pollutions, ozone layer depletion, etc. are all human eros that needs to be addressed with immediate effect. 

We are losing God-given clean water due to 'galamsey' and other activities. Fisher folks have their nets filled with the rubbish we carelessly dispose of into the environment. Floods are everywhere with the slightest rains. 

I believe strongly that, no one can better understand the environment and care for it like the Christian. The Bible is explicit in John 1:1-3 that, "All things were made through Him[the Word, Jesus Christ], and without Him[the Word, Jesus Christ] was not any thing made that was made." John 1:3 (ESV). It is only the people of the word that can better understand the environment and preserve it for God. 

Onward Christian soldiers, let us march on to play our crucial role to preserve the environment.

Preserving the Environment

On their way to the promised land from Egypt, for the sake of the environment, God ordered them not to defecate or litter in their camps (Deut. 23:11-13). The reason is that

"the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you."

Deuteronomy 23:14 (ESV)

From this conversation, I come to the understanding that, when our environment is unclean, God cannot;

1. Come to us
2. Deliver us
3. Make our enemies our footstool

For God will always turn away from us whenever He sees indecent things in our environment. Oh! yes, I see why demons infested people and places are almost always in an unclean environment.

Our environment must be our concern as Christians. I am sure God wants us to preserve, protect and improve our environment. It is worth noting that, in God's wisdom, all that he has placed at our disposal are for us, our children, and children's children.

In 1 Kings 7:2, we are told that Solomon built with large quantities of cedar wood from the Forest of Lebanon. Today, Lebanon, still boasts of its cedar forest. Preservation is the hallmark.

Our use of the environment does not warrant us to deplete them. We are commanded as Christians to stand up and advocate for the preservation of the environment.

Our Environment Today

‘Galamsey’ and other malpractices are destroying our land. Our forest cover, river bodies as well as aquatic animals and plants are being destroyed. 

Cocoa, a major commercial crop, as well as food crop farms, we are told, they are being cut down in certain parts of the country so that ‘galamsey’ can take place. Oh, Mother Ghana.

We litter around, urinate, and defecate indiscriminately. People throw rubbish into gutters at the onset of rainfall blocking the free flow of water bodies. 

We are losing some great species of plants and animals that were for our own benefit - food and medicine. Diseases are tripling in on us every now and then because the God-given fruits for food and leaves for healing (Ezk. 47:12) are being destroyed. Oh, indeed, for lack of knowledge, we perish.

Today, Ghana is spending huge sums of money to distill our gutters and reclaim some lands. Meanwhile, we cry about economic hardship. This is the responsibility of at least, the '71%' plus of the population who profess to be Christians to preserve the environment.

Conclusion

God wants to visit our land, bless us with abundance and protect us from our enemies. It is our role as Christians to preserve the environment to welcome Him in our midst. AMEN!

Shalom aleikhem...