The Christian’s Responsibility to God’s Creation

Dear Church,

I listened to Boris Johnston’s speech at the 76th United Nations Assembly. It was a very animated speech that lasted 22 minutes. “It is time for humanity to grow up,” he said, explaining that humanity must face up to what the scientists have been warning about all along regarding the reality of climate change. Admitting that human greed has almost pushed the earth to the point of no return, we must do something before the damage is irreversible. We have the moral obligation to do so for the sake of our children and grandchildren, who will come to realize that we were the main culprits and that we had the knowledge and power to stop it.

Giving a speech at the UN Assembly is one thing, but committing to reducing carbon emissions is not an easy issue for countries like the US and China. It is time for the government leaders to stop all the rhetoric and get down to business. Have we not lost so much valuable time already? Boris Johnston of the United Kingdom said that his country once relied totally on coal for electricity. Today, it has successfully managed to switch over to wind power for generating electricity. He wishes that by 2040, all cars made in the world will run on electricity alone. Why not? Where there is a will, there is certainly a solution! Yes, we should look at purchasing electric cars instead of buying regular gasoline cars, or at least we start with hybrid ones. We must do whatever is in our power to reduce gas emissions and help stop climate change.

As Christians, we should also take a keen interest in earth-keeping because God created the wonderful earth and told us to manage it. It is, therefore, our responsibility to care for God’s creation, not to destroy it out of greed. As Christopher Wright points out in his book, The Mission of God’s People, ‘the Bible begins and ends with creation’. We stand corrected on our myopic view that God’s creation is no more than a backdrop of the story of our salvation. How wrong we are! We should remember that God is committed to the total redemption and restoration of the whole creation, not just humanity. Let us be more persistent about caring for the earth. Let us do our part in stopping global warming. We do not want our children and grandchildren to inherit the unlivable planet.

May the LORD bless you,
Pastor Minho Song