A Prayer For the Fifth Day of Christmas: A Planet Kept Clean And Liveable

"The Lord God placed the human in the Garden of Eden as its gardener, to tend and care for it."

Genesis 2:15 Living Bible

The very first mandate God gave us was to take care of the earth, to subdue it and have dominion over it on God's behalf. As caretakers created in God's image, we are entrusted with the wise stewardship of creation. 

Sadly, most people have chosen to exploit the planet for short term gain rather than preserve and care for it as the unique, life-giving treasure it is. Huge areas of rain forests ("the lungs of the planet") are being destroyed at an alarming rate to provide more grazing land to meet increased demands for ever more red meat in our diets. Coal burning power plants spew tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every day due to our insatiable need for increased power, resulting in the planet warming at a steady but alarming rate.

Good planets, like healthy bodies, require diligent care. We know we can't abuse our bodies with too much alcohol, nicotine and other drugs, or with too many carbs, harmful fats, sugars and sodium, without paying a heavy price. In the same way the harm we do to the earth will be passed on to our children and to future generations.

On this fifth day of Christmas pray with me that we will be responsible caretakeers of our rich topsoil, pure water, clean air and all of the resources with which we have been blessed.