By Nathan Kiwere
In this second and last part of the series on Christians’ responsibility towards nature and environment, we dig deeper into what the Word of God says, and share some views of Christians. It is a given that Christians believe God created the world; so by extension, respecting the world shows respect to God. Humans are also God’s stewards of the earth, as seen in the Bible: “You shall not pollute the land in which you live… You shall not
defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, for I the Lord dwell in the midst of the people” (Numbers 35:3334).
Respecting nature
Lack of respect for nature and the environment is not the preserve of atheists or people of other religions. Some of the biggest culprits might be people who subscribe to God under Christianity. This abuse may range from simply littering plastic bottles to cutting down trees illegally.
It is also commonly manifested in the garbage dumping culture. This is particularly a sore eye that catches anyone that uses roads in Kampala’s suburbs. I have lost count of the times I have witnessed large sacks of refuse dumped right outside my gate, on the tarmac road that leads to my workplace, the kids’ school or the market. These sacks are left to rot as the contents thereof spill out, exposing everything from used baby diapers to decaying leftovers of meat, fish, beans, and sometimes used condoms!
Before that putrefaction has dried, another few sacks will be added to the pile, causing a dizzying stench accompanied by an army of flies that loudly chorus in a confused harmony at the sight of a passerby. According to one website ( www.1millionwomen.com.au ), writing about ‘What the world’s religions have to say about sustainability’, the message here seems clear: God does not want to see the world polluted or the world’s resources abused. In fact, according to the site, the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, has been nicknamed “the Green Pope” for his work in highlighting the importance of environmentalism for Christians in the world today. “Respect for the human being and respect for nature are one and the same,” he said in 2015,
drawing on religious teachings to promote the low-carbon lifestyle. He also reminded Church leaders of the importance of “La cura della casa commune” (the care of the common home); that is, humanity’s moral obligation to create a planet-strong future.
Global concern
Whereas reference to sustainability may evoke images of big carbon-emitting industries, large scale deforestation, it should be known that all humanity is a net contributor to earth’s destruction through individual actions. Environment conservation is one of the hottest topics debated around the world. Terms such as global warming and climate change have gained international currency and are used to raise awareness about the state of the earth and its future, usually using doomsday undertones. They caution that if nothing is urgently done about the status of the earth, we are all headed for a mega apocalypse. Isaac Mukama, a Ugandan Christian with knowledge about the Bible reasons that in the beginning, God created green things as food for man and that was before the fall of Adam. “We see a similar parallel in the book of Revelations that describes a lion lying together with a lamb without harming it, which means God’s original design was that of preservation,” says Mukama. “I find it rather frustrating that science has taken things to the extreme, inventing words such as global warming and climate change…” Mukama believes some of the natural occurrences that affect nature are nothing more than acts of God but since they (scientists) can’t figure it out, they would rather hypothesize things and come up with outlandish hypotheses. For instance, Mukama quotes the book of Genesis and how it was prophesied that there would be a drought that would affect the whole world and how Egypt would become the food basket of the world for seven years.
Church Sermons on Environment
God raised Joseph to spearhead this project, and it came to pass as God designed it. “Can scientists explain to me who was responsible for cutting down all the trees at this time to cause the massive drought?” Mukama asks rhetorically. For the same reason, he doesn’t believe the earth will be destroyed through man’s indifferent
environmental ethics as science postulates, but rather by God Himself. This sounds like a very extreme view of Christianity and environmental ethics, and yet thinking deeply about it makes sense. Whatever the case, it is never too late to start doing the right thing. While talking to one city pastor about this issue recently, I proposed that the church considers including such sermons on its menu
so as to sensitize the masses about their spiritual responsibility towards the environment. His answer was curt: “That may not be easy to implement.” But how difficult is it for men of the cloth to talk about an issue whose relevance is supported by the scriptures? Whether or not the gospel of nature conservation secures space on the pulpit, we shall all be held accountable for how we utilized the earthly resources God put us in charge of.
