Earth: Part 1
-“The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit, and whoever protects their master will be honored.”
Proverbs 27:18 NIV
In the Bible, the Earth is a gift from God to mankind. They created the planet to be humanity's home. In return, humanity was called to take care of the Earth, being “good stewards”. In Proverbs 27:18, it claims that “The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit…”. What does this mean in terms of the Earth? Well, quite simply, the one who guards the Earth will get to witness its abundance. Humans must protect and take care of the Earth in order to sustain it from the resources that they take. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Major companies often abuse the environment and the resources of the Earth, making it impossible to replenish the resources by building buildings, factories, or simply decimating the land through harvest.
My idea of care for the planet has, for most of my life, revolved around recycling, composting, caring for, and cleaning the rich environment around us. Due to quarantine however, I was guided via the Black Lives Matter movement to the idea and power of online petitions. There are online positions for many causes, including environmental safety. Though petitions do not ensure change, they are a great way to start change. Petitions can be signed by thousands of people, and are usually addressed to companies or government officials. Both of these groups will in theory see the people, who are potential customers or voters, who disapprove of their actions and do as the people ask. These petitions also draw awareness to the issues at hand, creating more concern and demand for justice.
As Christians, we are called to take care of the Earth around us, as it is a gift from God. For the next few weeks, I will be seeking out petitions to sign to help keep the planet clean and safe. A great place to find petitions is on Change.org. Change.org is a platform for all kinds of petitions available around the world. Petitions are started by users, and they share sources and updates on the issues the petitions address. I will specifically search for petitions about the environment and protecting the planet. As the Church, we should always be doing our best to help protect the planet God has blessed us with.