If your father gave you a farm, and you trashed it and neglected the animals, how do you think that would make him feel?

I've been attending church every Sunday (excluding sick days and vacations) since I was born. That's almost 20 years now. I've attended a Baptist church, a Presbyterian church, and even attended a few Methodist services. I've heard sermons on all kinds of things: on loving your neighbor, being the salt of the earth, praying for yourself, praying for others, an entire series of sermons on the seven deadly sins, the miracle of the virgin birth, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, the grace of God's love, forgiveness.... I've heard a whole lot of sermons on a whole lot of different things. However, there's one thing that I don't think I've ever heard a sermon on. One of the greatest gifts God has given us: taking care of our Earth.

When God created the world, he saw that it was good. And it is. It provides us with water. It provides us with (very delicious) food. It provides us the means to fulfill our every desire. We use its resources to makes houses, power lights, drive cars, write books, and create art. Not only does it provide us with all of our needs and wants, but it's aesthetically stunning. Think of the beauty in forests with deer running freely, sunsets over the water, waves crashing at the beach, and fields of flowers.

After God created this beautiful, wonderful thing, he created man, and then God gave the earth to humanity, for us to rule over it all. He placed man in the Garden of Eden to take care of it. We haven't been doing such a great job at that.

Instead of loving and caring for our Earth, we're destroying it. Ninety-seven percent of scientists agree. That's a lot of very smart people, who have done a lot of very thorough research. We have polluted our air in many areas to the point where it's a health hazard. We have trashed our oceans. We create millions of tons of garbage each year. We have released so much carbon dioxide into our environment that we have changed the climate. Bees are now an endangered species.

This is a problem. A very very big problem, and progress is happening very slowly. Most protestant Christians tend to lean right politically, and that's fine, but unfortunately, the GOP tends to favor job creation and economic growth over environmentalism, or completely deny climate change and the devastating effects of pollution (which often does the most damage to the poor and oppressed, the very groups we are called to help). I don't want to make this political. I don't have a problem with Republicans or conservatives, however, as Christians, we do need to demand more out of our representatives, from whatever party they come from, when it comes to protections for the environment.

Jesus warned us over and over in the Bible about the problems that accompany greed. While I do agree that we need to find ways to increase job creation and help the economy, we cannot choose money over the well-being of our planet. We are not loving our neighbors if we are destroying the home we all share. We cannot serve two masters, and I highly doubt that Jesus would be in favor of us dumping toxins into our lakes and rivers in order to save corporations money.

God entrusted us with this earth. We owe it to him to take care of it. God loves us and wants us to flourish, but he also loves the many other species, both animal and plant life, that he created as well. When we create so much light pollution that birds alter their migration patterns, we aren't taking care of his creations. When we tear down the habits of animals, leaving them homeless, we are not taking care of his creations. When we have oil spills in the oceans because we refuse to invest in cleaner energy, we are not taking care of his creations. Although we, as humans, do feel some of the effects of the problems we have caused, it is primarily other forms of life that pay dearly for our mistakes.

I understand that the answers to these problems aren't easy. That many of what's necessary requires sacrifice. I don't have a solution to all of these problems, but I do know that we owe it both to God, each other, and future generations to do better. We may not be of this world, but we still need to take care of it.