HOW SHOULD CHRISTIANS VIEW “EARTH DAY”?

Earth Day: Established April 22, 1970. The Earth Day website says this:

Each year, Earth Day -- April 22 -- marks the anniversary of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.

The height of hippie and flower-child culture in the United States, 1970 brought the death of Jimi Hendrix, the last Beatles album, and Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water". Protest was the order of the day, but saving the planet was not the cause. War raged in Vietnam, and students nationwide increasingly opposed it.

At the time, Americans were slurping leaded gas through massive V8 sedans. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. "Environment" was a word that appeared more often in spelling bees than on the evening news. Although mainstream America remained oblivious to environmental concerns, the stage had been set for change by the publication of Rachel Carson's New York Times bestseller Silent Spring in 1962. The book represented a watershed moment for the modern environmental movement, selling more than 500,000 copies in 24 countries and, up until that moment, more than any other person, Ms. Carson raised public awareness and concern for living organisms, the environment and public health.

Earth Day 1970 capitalized on the emerging consciousness, channeling the energy of the anti-war protest movement and putting environmental concerns front and center. (From the Web: http://www.earthday.org/earth-day-history-movement; 4/22/15.)

As a Christian, I see nothing in this that even begins to honor God. But is that reason to ban Christians from celebrating this national holiday that began the modern environmental movement?
To answer this question will take a bit more thought and probing questions. There are several factors that should guide the Christian.

• First, what does the Bible say about such things?
• Second, what is the movement's intent, and will Christians who participate be supporting that intent by their participation?
• Next, what is the outcome of that intent upon society, faith, and eternal things?

Now, as for the Bible's input, it really covers the entire gamut of questions the Christian should be asking. It speaks to the human responsibility of stewardship with regard to nature. It speaks to the sinful tendency of humanity to worship the creation rather than the creator. It speaks to the responsibility of the Christian to distinguish between good and evil. It speaks to the separation of the Christian from earthly or material focus for material ends alone (all things should be done for the purpose of glorifying God). The Bible speaks to the mission of Christians: making disciples of all nations. The Bible speaks to who is ultimately responsible for sustaining the universe and all that is within it.

With that in mind, the Christian should carefully weigh his/her involvement in "Earth Day" in order to take care to honor the Lord in his/her activities in such a way as to make publicly clear his/her devotion to the Lord. The statement above about the history and intent of "Earth Day" is truly about the environmental movement with no reference to the Creator. As such, it would imply a bit of a worship of the creation rather than the creator. The hippie movements were notoriously secular and protesting all things organized and "religious." Therefore, Earth Day's proponents were willing to focus on the created world with no reference to the Creator is no surprise. Participation without reference to the Creator leads others to believe that God has no part in sustaining the universe (contrary to the Scriptures) if He exists at all.

However, the strong teaching of Scripture about humanity's responsibility to care for the earth as his greatest stewardship is unquestionable. The only stewardship more important to God is the stewardship of the Gospel – given to Christians. Therefore, Christians should care for the earth, but in so doing, share the gospel. The earth is God's tool to house humanity – and humanity is God's central focus. The tool is not the most important thing to God, people are. The earth was given to us for our sustenance (food, clothing, shelter) and our enjoyment. We must, as Christians, not lose sight of this important truth. Our focus can be skewed by secular world-views here. We must resist this alteration of our focus.
The ultimate end of the secular view of "Earth Day" is devoid of Christ, unwilling to acknowledge God as God, and an emphasis on the creation rather than worshiping the Creator. Our Earth should remind us of the Loving Care of Christ, our Creator and cause us to praise Him for His infinite wisdom, imagination, provision, and perfect creative powers. Earth Day should remind us of our responsibility to care for creation as an act of worship of our Creator. We should never be caught secularizing the environmental movement!

And that's "Earth Day" As I See It. May the Lord Bless You today!