The discussion of the environment has become a hot topic of
late (no pun intended). I would not want
to discuss what many would consider a political discussion for a devotion, but
something I heard pulled me and my beliefs right in. A congressman put God in the middle of the
discussion. He said, “As a Christian, I
believe that there is a creator in God who is much bigger than us. And I’m
confident that, if there’s a real problem, he can take care of it.” That makes sense for we know we serve an
almighty God who can do anything. We
could very well take the approach of Jesus speaking of worries saying, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat?
What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These
things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already
knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom
of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything
you need.” (Matthew 6:31-33)
However, there is another side of the argument that says we
are not to absolve ourselves from just standing around and doing nothing. When we see something is wrong, Jesus tells
us to act. The parable of the Good
Samaritan is one of many examples (see below):
“Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the
man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the
Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he
put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of
him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins,
telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll
pay you the next time I’m here.’
“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the
man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.
The man replied, “The
one who showed him mercy.”
Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.” Luke
10:33-37
We are to remember that our faith calls us to act when God
calls upon us. There are those who may
take the approach of not worrying about things for there are other things that
God has called on them to do. That is
not an issue. We must be careful to not
to just simply believe that God will take care of all things for there will be
times God calls on us to be His advocate.
Whether it is feeding the needy, caring for the homeless, teaching bible
study, or (yes) protecting the environment, all are worthy callings of God. To say ‘God will take care of a problem’ is irresponsible. That does not mean there will be times we
need to leave things in God’s hands. It means
we are to prayerfully go to Him and ask what His will would be for us, and then
respond. Furthermore, the scriptures
about worrying mean to worry about what God calls you to do. Not ignore what is right in front of you.
We cannot turn a blind eye to those things God would call on
us to do. There are many things beyond
our control, and God can indeed handle anything. One of my favorite pastors once said that we
are called to go out and do what God calls us to do. Let us make sure we follow what God instills
in our heart and be encouragers of those who God has called to serve in ways
that may not be as we are called to do. What calling has God placed on you to act
upon? What prayer must you have to meet
God calls upon you. My prayer is that we
can discern between God’s control from God’s plan for our lives. Amen.
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