Going Green?

The earth is a mess, and many people want to help clean it up. But is “going green” for Earth Day enough? What does the Creator of the earth say?

Earth Day is coming up on April 22. Many schools and public service groups will embark on projects that attempt to better our earth and keep up the “going green” movement that is sweeping the United States.

The Earth Day Network is just one of many groups doing so. They are sponsoring what they call “A Billion Acts of Green—an International Movement to Protect the Planet and Secure a Sustainable Future.”

While many of these groups are well-intentioned and seek to do good, have they really stopped to ask what the Creator of this planet desires and what He sees for its future?

Sadly, underlying some of the thinking is actual worship of the earth, instead of its Creator. But, as Christians, we look to what our Creator tells us.

Good stewards

We must first understand God’s plan when creating life on this planet. In Psalm 8:6-8 we see man was given dominion over all other living things. God wanted man to use what he was given wisely—those resources were intended to be a blessing. God expects man to treat those living things with care: “A righteous man regards the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel” (Proverbs 12:10).

A follower of God will show respect for the things God created and not abuse them. To be good stewards of the planet given to us, we will want to follow God’s instructions and live up to His expectations of us.

Unsustainable course

As we saw, the mission of the Earth Day Network is to “secure a sustainable future.” The problem with this goal is that it fails to acknowledge what the one true Sustainer tells us about the underlying cause of the destruction of the earth—breaking God’s laws. God foretells that because of sin “the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, … and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10).

When we see from God’s perspective that this sin-sick earth must be cleansed by fire, we can understand that our days are best spent working on becoming the type “of persons [we] ought … to be in holy conduct and godliness” (verse 11). While we should do what we can now to protect the environment, our most important task is preparing for God’s coming Kingdom.

No amount of recycling or planting of trees can make up for the rejection of God’s moral law. God tells us that the world will reach the point of self-destruction because evil will prevail. If Jesus Christ did not intervene, no life would be saved from the time of tribulation (Matthew 24:6-8, 22).

Yet God’s plan does not end there. He plans on giving us a peaceful planet during the Millennium and, after that, a new earth!

A new earth

“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” (Revelation 21:1). This will be the beginning of God the Father dwelling together with men. There will be a pure river proceeding from the throne of God and the Lamb that has no threat of pollution (Revelation 22:1). Most importantly, everyone will observe God’s moral law, which will bring true physical and spiritual healing to the planet.

We all desire a world with clean air that is safe for our children and one that has enough resources for all to benefit. Our Father in heaven knows that we have need of that and promises, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

God wants to heal our land and our hearts. We see from His inspired Word that our planet would be served well if, in addition to “going green,” we also had a “going godly” movement. Let’s strive to follow God’s laws that promote healthy living and good stewardship while we eagerly await Christ’s coming and eventually the new earth that will last forever and ever.

Sarah Henderson and her husband, Andrew, attend the Columbus/Cambridge, Ohio, congregation of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association.