Beauty of the Earth

For the Beauty of the Earth By Jimmie Hawkins As people of faith, there are certain things which inspire us to care for creation and calls for us to continue this work. First, our belief in a God of creation. We believe that “God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1, NRSV) and has given human beings the responsibility of stewardship of God’s “good” creation. That means taking care of it, refusing to allow pollution to spoil the air, land and sea. Second, the recognition of the intimate connection between human lives and the well-being of this planet demands that, out of a sense of self-preservation, we do no harm to creation. Whatever we do to bring damage to God’s creation, will ultimately bring harm to our lives, especially to the most vulnerable who live here. It endangers our elderly and sick. And perhaps most of all, it places our children at great risk. Third, scripture commands it. Genesis 1:28 reads, “And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” Synonyms for “subdue” are pacify, calm, mollify and placate; another word for “dominion” is protectorate. We are not conquerors but stewards of God’s world which is a gift from a gracious and generous creator who simply demands that we take care of what has been given to us. We are called to be meticulous, diligent and industrious in our determination to protect the air we breathe, the water we drink and the land we inhabit. This is a fulfillment of obedient discipleship to the Lord Jesus who challenges us to “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” (Matthew 6:28b-29) The beauty of creation must be maintained by all who affirm the love of the God of creation. Rev. Jimmie Ray Hawkins serves as the Director of the Presbyterian Church (USA) Office of Public Witness in Washington DC. Prior to moving to DC, he served for twenty years as the pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Durham, NC. His community ministry includes being a leader for the Moral Monday Movement since its onset in 2013. He served as a member of the NC NAACP Executive Committee and has been active in justice advocacy throughout his ministry.