Caring for the Environment

“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” (Psalms 24:1, NIV)

Caring for what the Lord has created manifests an enlightened understanding that we are just trustees and managers of what we have now. Everything we see and use comes from God the Creator, and we have nothing to claim as possession because we don’t own anything. We are born naked, and we’ll go back to Him naked as well.

The mountains, rivers, forests, air, trees, beaches, all good things from the Lord, are blessings given for our use, not for abuse. Whatever abuse that we make, the consequence will hound us, not only the present generation but also the future ones. No wonder we experience creepy disaster, weather change, heat waves, pollution, etc., all because of our negligence.

Of course, I count myself guilty, in one way or another, for the degradation of our environment. It may be my laxity in doing nothing to protect my environment, or worse, my direct, blatant participation in “raping” it for pleasure. But as a redeemed creature of the Lord, and everyone who shares the gift of salvation, we should care for our environment to show that we honor the Creator of these things, as we ourselves are created ones. Our participation in caring and loving our environment through concrete action marks our submission to the Lordship of our Creator, and that we value all things that He values. We are loving Him when we love the good things that He created.

I believe we can do many things in caring for our environment. But I like to mention what I AM doing personally as a simple step in caring for my environment, and I hope you find your way too in practically loving our environment. These may be minute actions, but definitely not futile:
* When I can’t find a trash to dispose my candy wrappers, or any other used materials for that matter, I put them on my pocket, and throw these off when I find one.
* Though I love chewing gums, I despise gluing it anywhere.
* I refuse to put my purchased products in a plastic anymore when I can just put it on my bag, or when I will use it right away. Never mind the tender who looks at me bizarrely.
* I don’t smoke. I breathe smoke, hahaha. (RA 8749 or Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999)
* I segregate my trash (Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solidwaste Management Act of 2000 :)
* I don’t cross “over the bakod”. Trees are silently hurting.
* I support organic farming :)
* I participate in this blog action day for the environment, hehe..

Oh my, I cannot think of anything more. I guess I need more environmental awareness. Anyway, I believe what I listed above, no matter how simple they are, will be of great help. Kindly suggest more practical ways on how to care for our environment…

"We don’t have a society if we destroy our environment.” Margaret Mead (1901-1978)

Delayed Contemplation

“I don’t consider my boarding house as my mission field.” This premature statement I uttered in one Bible study is contradictory of what the Bible is saying about becoming salt and light of the world. I said that out of sincerity since I really don’t make efforts to reach out to my boardmates for I don’t spend considerable time in my boarding house. They just see me on evenings most of the times.

I forgot that it’s not only the time spent or the efforts exerted where I can minister to them. I was once a college student and I believe I could minister to them in other special ways. My life itself is testimony, a living epistle that can either put down or bring praise to the name I bear. They can either see Christ in me, or his extreme opposite.

Whenever they have their drinking spree, which I used to indulge before, I am always at the refusal point. I welcome their offers but I never accept it, so far. Yes, sometimes, I want to join them, my flesh warring with my spirit, but I thought one mistake can lead to another one, and I don’t want to put in disgrace the name I bear. I have to be firm with my conviction; I know they might think of me as indifferent, but I am not accountable to them. It’s the Lord I please.

The Lord puts me where I can grow and minister to people around me. My mission field is wherever the Lord leads me. If it seems the field is ominously dark, the light in me, how minute it may be, can still diffuse its sparkle. Oh the sparkle, lately we’re talking about the “sparks” of being a servant-leader of Christ, and yes, it hurts when people around us, especially the lost one, cannot see any “sparkle” in us. But this should serve as a challenge to all light bearers to keep their light shine and their fire aflame.

Sincerity in my utterance is immaterial if it’s not truth-driven. This delayed contemplation is better than never. :) †