Environment and Its Preservation

Environment and its Preservation

Jovie Caballero

Liberty University

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses the actions of Christians toward their contribution to environmental conservation and restoration. Christians believe that it is their responsibility to take care of nature because God has created the Earth "to be inhabited" (Isaiah 45:18, NIV). It explores the societal value of preservation, the attitude on nature, and the strategies Christians develop in promoting the need for environmental conservation.

INTRODUCTION

Environment is very important in every human's life because of the resources it provides such as water and food. People need these resources in order to survive. The first chapter of the Bible, Genesis promotes the essential goodness of God giving us "dominion" over the earth. As the children of God, he entrusted us to take responsibility towards the earth and its resources. As the biblical doctrine outlines, humanity was created and given responsibility to rule over the inhabitants of the earth including the environment. Humans inevitably affect the environment in everyday lives; therefore, taking good care of the environment would help future generations to live in. "The purpose of preservation is to safeguard resources for the future without loss of value or usefulness in the present" (Reilly, 2003)

As Christians, we must consider our environment as good and valuable and must seek to exercise good stewardship over the environment through preservation or restoration. "The mandate God has given us, to be good stewards, should be an imperative for seeking after every avenue leading to a sustainable future for humankind" (Touryan, 2012). It would only seem natural for Christians to be determined to care properly for the environment because it is God's creation. It is not only Christians, but the society as a whole should take responsibility to preserve the use of resources in order to promote prosperity and help future generations. There are various ways that we can contribute in promoting environmental conservations. All humans, especially Christians must understand the biblical doctrine regarding the given responsibility to humanity, make changes of personal lifestyle and a commitment to further conservation, support local conservation groups and most importantly, educate our children the proper way to become a good steward toward God's creation. According to the book of Titus 1:7-9, " Since an overseer manages God's household, he must be blameless--not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, and who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it" (NIV).

Christians should fully understand the teaching of the Bible about taking the responsibility of God's creation before taking any actions. The population is continuing to grow and the demand on resources is increasing. As a wholesome society, contributing to help sustain and maintain environmental conservation play an important role in improving our useful resources. God created all things possible and he said in the book of Genesis 1:28, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it" (KJV). Christians are to take charge over the world in the same loving, tender, faithful way as God ruled over human beings. As Christians, it is important to understand God's special revelation because it will guide us on how to improve the societal value in environmental conservation. People were the first to produce a negative impact on nature and they should be taught the value of resources that God created rather than destroying the earth irresponsibly.

The preservation or restoration of the environment is affected by human influence. "Many human actions cause widespread destruction of the environment, so we more significantly affect the environment than non humans" (Ereshefsky, 2007). A change in personal lifestyle is one way humans can do to preserve the environment. Some examples include, recycling, conserving energy and the use of resources can make the world a better place. The environment is being degraded due to human abuse of these resources and our attempt to live beyond our means. "The United States constitutes only 5.5% of the population but consumes 26.5% of