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REFLECTION

Look after the earth is the theme for our reflection. Look after the earth means that God has made humanity stewards over His creation. The Psalmist acknowledges this fact when he wrote that “You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.” (Psalms 8:6-8).

Beloved in the Lord, God in His own infinite wisdom created everything human beings would ever need before creating them. The only responsibility of human beings is to look after the earth. To look after a thing means, we must protect it, take care of it, and use it responsibly and sustainably. Why must we look after the earth? We must do so because God has so designed our biological make-up such that we must depend on the earth for survival. It is, for this reason, after He had created human beings, “God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground. ” Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food. ” And it was so.” (Genesis 1:28-30). In other words, we must take care of the earth because God created it to supply human beings with the basic necessities of life. These are food, water, air and shelter. The fact is that the earth can subsist without human beings but human beings cannot live without the earth. We actually look after ourselves if we look after the earth.

Unfortunately, Christianity in Africa seems to have little or no bearing on environmental stewardship. Many Christians in the world especially in Africa and other developing countries are unable to see the interconnectedness of our faith and our responsibility of looking after the earth. We are used to the cliche “cleanliness is next to godliness” yet many of us continue to worship God in a polluted environment. We engage in illegal mining leading to the pollution of bodies and the destruction of aquatic life. Waste is poorly managed, and this has resulted in choked sewage systems and stagnant water in our neighbourhoods causing flood and public health concerns. Open defecation in our neighbourhoods especially in the coastal areas continues to be a great public health concern. In Africa, it is a common practice for people travelling on the road to shamelessly throw rubbish along the roadside. Ironically, we do litter the environment while on our way to church or while returning from a mega crusade or church program. We have destroyed our forest which serves as a habitat for many animals. Some animals have been declared endangered species because of our inability to look after the earth. We have been bad stewards in one way or the other by directly or indirectly contributing to the destruction of the earth. Beloved in the Lord our faith is incomplete when we fail to be good stewards of the earth. The Church must inculcate teaching on environmental stewardship since it is directly linked to our survival and our divine calling to look after the earth. Every believer is a protector of the environment and must endeavour to do so anywhere he or she finds himself or herself. Shalom.

PRAYER

Holy Spirit, empower us to be good stewards of the earth. May we be empowered to sustain and look after the earth for the benefit of our generation and posterity. Amen.