There are so many issues in the world today that grab our attention and demand that we figure out what is the “right or best” thing to do.  Information has increased and our ability to communicate and has increase but in light of this “progress” our ability to reason and agree on what is the right or best thing to do has dramatically decreased.  This is because people are not enlightened by increased amounts of information alone.  In fact increased information without a “filter” to ignore the bad information (… i.e. fake news) will cause someone to be overwhelmed, indifferent and apathetic toward important issues because there is too much to comprehend and no consensus of opinion.  Many have given up trying to conserve resources or preserve the environment because they think that eventually technology will solve all our problems and tell us how to live together peacefully, equitably and make the best use of planet earth.  

But even though we have seen great advances in technology and I like a good science fiction story, the problems of the world are not solvable by technology only because the root problem is man himself.  Man is dead in his sin and separated from God and is destined to die that way unless he is reconciled to God through God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.  Only by listening to the voice of the Lord can we adequately filter information and allow God to lead us to do what is best.  Therefore, deciding what is best for plant earth is a secondary agenda after you have “first” decide what is “best” for you, which is to be made Spiritually alive in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Like most people, I love nature and I understand the importance of preserving our natural resources.  When I was in college back in the 70’s during the oil crisis, you had to sometimes wait over an hour just to get 10 gallons of gas.  And depending on the last digit of you license plate number you could only get gas on “even” days of the month if your license plate ended in a even number or odd days if your plate ended in an odd number.  I remember the car manufactures at that time agreed to make smaller cars that used less gas.  Unfortunately, most of the first American small cars of the 70’s where a bad joke, like the Vega, Gremlin and the Pinto.  And the poor quality of American made small cars and the need for small cars is what opened the market for Japanese made cars, which where made under the “Total Quality Principles” of American Engineer Edward Deming.  That’s right, Deming tried to help American car manufactures but they rejected his ideas, so he went to Japan and the rest is history.

All this waiting in line lead me to take an Energy conservation class at Virginia Tech in 1975.  The book we used at that time said the oil in the earth would be extinguished in 30 years and the best energy source of the future was “solar power”.  The need to find an alternate energy sources (other than oil) or renewable energy sources was the reason the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) was established at that time.  However, after 45 years of DoE programs and dumping billions of tax payer dollars into the DoE, what does American energy use look like today thanks to all the hard work of the DoE?  It look worse than it did before the DoE was established.  Look around folks, we drive around in even bigger cars than we did back in the 70’s and we are more dependent on oil today than we have ever been in the history of America, which to a large degree comes from countries that are not friendly towards us.  Thank goodness, the scientist who predicted that the oil reserves of mother earth would be extinguished in 30 years where wrong but if you think the government is here to help you then you might still be smoking pot that you started smoking back in the 70’s.

From the beginning God’s intent for man was to be a good steward of planet earth.  Man was supposed to walk with God in the garden and learn from God how to care and rule over planet earth and it’s creatures.  Genesis 1:28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of  the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”  But sin destroyed man’s relationship with God and it brought death to man, death to animals and death to planet earth and death to the whole cosmos.  It brought weeds into the garden of Eden and caused the nature of animals to turn against each other and the nature of man to turn against his fellow man.  Sin put us in a big hole concerning how to care for planet earth and we cannot get out of this hole on our own efforts.  Only by grace through faith in Jesus Christ can we be Spiritually born again and overcome the sentence of death because of sin and one day enjoy a new body, a new cosmos and a new earth to live in free from sin, the way God intended.

That does not mean that we are not supposed to be good stewards of earth, we are, it’s just that because of sin our job got a whole lot harder.  Plus we have another job that comes before being a good steward to planet earth and that is to be a good steward towards the people on planet earth.  As a “born again” Christian, we are compelled by the love of God to love one another and to tell others about the eternal life in Jesus Christ.  Telling people how to be saved and secure in Jesus Christ is the primary agenda, loving one another as Christ love us is the secondary agenda (and some say it is really equal to the first agenda and simply the other hand of the gospel) and everything else is in third place, including looking after good ol’ plant earth.

The reason I wrote this article was not to go into any great detail about conservation and stewardship of planet earth but to share a poem I wrote about the plight of the pipping plover on the outer banks of North Carolina where I live.  My daughter teaches “Earth Science” in High School and she often points out to me issues with the environment.  Recently I have been contacted by someone who has a concern for the perishing Penguins along the Antarctic shore due to warming climate change.  Read her story here:   https://moboxmarine.com/blogs/mobox-marine-blog/climate-change-is-having-a-huge-effect-on-penguin-colonies

Here is the article concerning the endangerment of the Pipping Plovers caused by recreational vehicles along the North Carolina Hatteras shore.

http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2015/04/cape-hatteras-national-seashore-proposes-reduction-wildlife-buffers-draws-criticism-conservationists26553

Here is my “song” response concerning the “Plight of the Pipping Plovers” … sung to the tune of “I’m Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover”

I’m looking over the piping plovers
a dancing along the shore
They don’t have lawyers or rights to complain
We are their voices so they will remain

 

What I’m explaining, do some restraining
When you ride your four by fours
Please don’t run over the piping plovers
That everyone so enjoys

– Rogersings

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