Q:
A few months ago I recommitted my life to Jesus at a summer camp. I really want to follow Him, but I'm planning to major in environmental science when I start college, and I wonder if God really cares about things like this. Does He?
A:
Yes, God certainly does care about the way we treat the earth. He created it, and He has entrusted its care to us. After God created Adam, the first human, the Bible says He “took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (Genesis 2:15). If we don’t take care of the environment, who will?
Part of the problem is that the world is no longer the way God intended it to be. When God created the world it was perfect—but then sin, like a deadly sickness, invaded the universe, and with it came every type of evil and natural disaster. In addition, the world is constantly damaged by the sins of human selfishness and greed.
Someday God will intervene; Christ will return and all these evils will be destroyed. Think of it: someday all the things that are wrong with this world will be reversed! Then, the Bible says, “the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay” (Romans 8:21).
But until that day, you and I are called to be good stewards of the world God created. Ask God to guide you as you choose your major—and if He leads you into this field, ask Him to help you work to make the world a better place, for His glory. The Bible says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord” (Colossians 3:23).