Compassion For Creation

Lord, does it honor you if I’m a good steward of your creation?

I hold in my hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains. The sea belongs to me, for I made it. My hands formed the dry land, too. Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. I looked over all I had made, and I saw that it was very good!

Psalm 95:4-5; Genesis 1:29, 31

What is my responsibility to care for the earth?

I, the LORD God, placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. Then I blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.” The godly care for their animals, but the wicked are always cruel.

Genesis 2:15; Genesis 1:28; Proverbs 12:10

What can I pray to remember that this is your earth I take care of?

O LORD, what a variety of things you have made! In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures.

Psalm 104:24

Stewardship of the earth begins with the realization that everything on earth—plants, animals, and people—belongs to the Lord. If God took such care in creating the world, we should concern ourselves with nurturing and loving God’s creation. Do something to make the earth more beautiful today. Start recycling, pick up litter, organize a seed and plant “share day” in your neighborhood, or donate to an organization that protects natural resources or promotes sustainable farming.