Where should caring for the environment rank in my list of values and priorities?

Matthew 6:33“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

Our first and most important priority should be loving and serving God. We need to care for people by keeping Christ at the center of our lives.

Genesis 1:27God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Mark 12:29-31Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

Human beings are the pinnacle of creation and the only creatures made in God’s image. So we should value all people as unique and special creations of God, loving our neighbors as ourselves.

Psalm 8:6-8You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority—the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents.

While we should value nature—the earth, sky, air, animals, and plants—we should not worship it. Instead, knowing that God has given it to us to use and as our home, we should understand that we accountable to him for how we use it, so we should use it well.