The other
day I ran across a troubling report about people who think it is acceptable to
use the ocean as a giant garbage dump. Here is an excerpt: “If you should see
this amazing floating pile of plastic in the Pacific Ocean, it’s called ‘The
Great Pacific Garbage Patch.’ It features three million tons of plastic debris
floating in an area larger than Texas. An eye-popping 46,000 pieces of plastic
float on every square mile of ocean!” Other sources estimate the amount of
garbage is even bigger. Plastic is especially bad because it does not dissolve.
During
our sojourn on earth, we have been charged, like Adam, with taking care of the
earth and its creatures that God has given us. Genesis 2:15 says, “The Lord God
took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.” God
delights in what He has made and this extends to the sea and all that live in
it (1:10,20-21).
This world should remind us of the greatness of our Creator and serve as a springboard of praise to Him. Indifferently using it as a garbage dump mars its beauty and threatens the creatures that live here. Showing respect and caring for the land, the ocean, and the air is our duty as believers in Christ.
