Caring for God’s Creation

If God gave you a beautiful brand-new car, how would you treat it?

Hopefully you wouldn’t trash it or enter it into a demolition derby.

But neither would you put it up on blocks and never use it, would you?

Could this modern example help us see how we should care for God’s creation?

God’s creation is very good

Six times in Genesis 1 we are told that God saw what He had made, and it was good (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25).

“Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good” (verse 31, emphasis added).

In fact, His creation proves that He exists and even reveals some of His invisible qualities.

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

In this passage the apostle Paul makes it clear that God wants us to recognize Him as the source of the creation and to be thankful for it (Romans 1:21). He points out the foolishness of worshipping the creature (or the creation) rather than the Creator (verse 25).

He decries the corrupted minds that led to abandonment of natural sexual relations and the adoption of greed, violence and the invention of new forms of evil (verses 26-30).

His description of the first-century Roman world bears a strong resemblance to our modern materialistic world.

God does not want us to worship the earth, and He doesn’t want us to destroy it (Revelation 11:18). So what does He want?

How God cares for His creation

We can learn a lot by reading how God cares for His creation, as well as by looking at the regulations He has given in the Bible.

Psalm 104 paints a beautiful portrait of the Creator’s care for His creation. God designed the earth and all its interconnected systems to continuously support the flora and fauna He made.

“He sends the springs into the valleys; they flow among the hills.

“They give drink to every beast of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

“By them the birds of the heavens have their home; they sing among the branches.

“He waters the hills from His upper chambers; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works” (Psalm 104:10-13).

Notice also how Jesus Christ described God’s loving care for the birds and the flowers—and His even greater love for His human creation:

“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? . . .

“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these” (Matthew 6:26, 28-29).

The God who waters and dresses the flowers and does not forget the sparrows (Luke 12:6) is well aware of those who share His concern for the creation—and those who abuse and destroy it.

God commands us to care for His creation

God’s commands have often been misunderstood. What God said in Genesis 1 and 2 has been interpreted from a human perspective as giving humans permission to trample on and exploit the earth without regard to factors such as pollution and sustainability. But we’ll see God never gave mankind permission to destroy the earth.

Let’s look at God’s instructions to Adam and Eve and all of us, their descendants.

After saying that He created us “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27), He said:

• Fill the earth and subdue it (verse 28): God designed the earth for human habitation, and when cared for properly, it can support a large population. He did not intend the problems of overcrowding and urban blight, but He also did not intend anything like a one-child policy with all its unintended consequences.

Subdue is also translated “govern” (New Living Translation) and “bring it under your control” (Contemporary English Version).

• Have dominion (verse 28): Humans are not the highest animal, but we are created in God’s image and thus the highest creature. And we are to learn to lead and serve as God leads and serves. He is not selfish, but loving. He leads and serves for the benefit of those He has dominion over.

Jesus Christ described both styles of leadership in Matthew 20:25-28:

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.

“Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

The dominion God intends does not destroy but is truly beneficial.

In addition to all the animals, God also blessed men with the land, water, agricultural produce and minerals (Deuteronomy 8:6-10). We are to learn to responsibly make use of the earth’s natural resources.

• Tend and keep it (Genesis 2:15): God gave us a job to do, cultivating, maintaining and looking after our surroundings. Our productive efforts should not only provide for our needs, but preserve the part of creation entrusted to us.

Humanity seems to gravitate to extremes. Some seem to worship the earth and consider mankind a pest that the planet would be better off without. Others seem to believe that no matter how much we exploit the earth, it will bounce back, or we will be able to engineer our way out of the damage we cause.

God does not approve of either extreme. He teaches us to steward His creation. We are to use the earth He has loaned to us—not to abuse it.

Creation is temporary

Physical life is temporary. The physical universe itself is temporary! God designed it that way. It is all part of His ultimate plan.

Our bodies and our environment are products of God’s creative genius, but they aren’t intended to be permanent. Even if we succeed in lengthening our lifespans and preserving our planet, they will eventually end.

God wants us to realize this life—this universe—is not all there is. We should care for our flesh and blood and maintain our material possessions, but realize it is all fleeting.

In Romans 8, Paul personifies the creation as suffering and decaying, but still anticipating what’s next in God’s plan. “The whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs” (verse 22).

Creation is eagerly waiting for the birth of the children of God (verse 19). Converted humans, created in the image of God, are to become fully like Him as children of God forever!

What we learn by caring for God’s creation is eternal

Some of Jesus’ most memorable teachings were about the importance of caring for what God has entrusted to us.

In His parable of the talents, for example, the servants who were faithful and productive received this praise that we would all like to hear:

“Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord” (Matthew 25:23).

By caring for the portion of God’s creation in our sphere of influence, we are learning to be faithful and wise stewards of everything that will be entrusted to us for eternity.

And what does God have in mind for us to inherit?

How about “all things” (Psalm 8:6; Romans 8:32; Revelation 21:7)? God created all things, both physical and spiritual (Colossians 1:16), and He wants to share it all with us!

Our loving God wants us to become His children and “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” (Romans 8:17; study this further in the online article “Joint Heirs With Christ”).

In the meantime, as we strive to become more and more like Jesus Christ and to be faithful stewards of everything God has blessed us with, we await a bright future. After Jesus Christ returns to the earth to rescue humanity, He will bring “the times of restoration of all things” (Acts 3:19, 21).

Our planet that now groans under humanity’s selfish and destructive choices eagerly awaits this time of refreshing (verse 19)! The earth will again experience the beauty and harmony of the Garden of Eden, and people will learn to care for God’s creation. It will be the start of an eternity beyond our wildest dreams.

Too good to be true? See more about what God promises in our free booklet The World to Come: What It Will Be Like.