God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature so they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, and, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.” (Genesis 1:26, TM)
According to Genesis, God put humans in charge of the planet. As managers for God, we are responsible for the planet and all its creatures. Humans were not put in charge so that we could wipe out entire species because of greed. (A bluefin tuna can be worth $100,000 on the Japanese market.) We are not given dominion to pollute the oceans. Yet, one large garbage patch in the Pacific contains 1.8 trillion pieces of trash. The floating mass covers an area twice the size of Texas.
Yesterday was Earth Day. I admit it bothers me when I throw away a piece of plastic that doesn’t recycle because I know it may take 1,000 years to break down and become part of the soil or end up floating in the ocean for centuries. The best thing we can do as Christians is to reduce the trash we create, reuse items we can, and recycle. We can do a better job as God’s managers.
Dr. Sam