Feature
5 August 2024
In 2020, Singapore’s Ministry of Environment and Water Resources was renamed Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, reflecting the Government’s focus on sustainability. This Ministry was tasked to draw up plans on carbon mitigation, coastal protection, zero waste, the circular economy and food and water security. It oversees Singapore’s contribution to global efforts to address climate change and sustainability challenges. In all these, Singapore supports and aligns with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The United Nations Brundtland Commission (1987) defined sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” In such terms, sustainability as a motivation for environmental concern is pragmatic and utilitarian.
Helpful as the concept of sustainability may be to motivate care for the environment we live in, Christians have theological impetuses to do so, namely worship, discipleship, and witness.
Worship
In the beginning, God made the heavens and the earth. (Gen 1:1).
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it… (Ps 24:1).
These and other parts of Scripture unequivocally proclaim that the earth is God’s creation and belongs to him. Such a belief is enshrined as dogma in our ancient creed: “I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.”
Sadly, the earth is a fallen creation, cursed by humanity’s sin (Gen 3), and the Christian biblical hope looks forward to the new heavens and new earth (Rev 21). For many, this implies that we need not be concerned about this present fallen earth, thinking that it will pass away and be replaced by something new. Today, debates continue on how Scriptures about the end times like 2 Pet 3:7-10 should be interpreted, and whether “the new heavens and new earth” implies a replacement or a renewal of this present earth. This article does not seek to enter the debate. Instead, whatever our inclinations in such debates, this article seeks to draw our attention to the observation in Scripture that, even in its fallen state, God views creation positively and continues to care for it.
In the Psalms, Ps 104 praises God’s continued care and sustenance for his earth and the creatures (both human and non-human) that live in it. In the Ten Commandments, we find the sabbath law as a reminder of God as creator (Exod 20:8-11) and a reflection of his care for his creation and all living things (Deut 5:12-14; see also the extension in Lev 25:4). In the Gospels, we find Jesus assuring people of God’s care for them on the evidence of God’s care for creation (Matt 6:26-30; 10:29-31; Lk 12:6-7).
Now, since this is how God continues to care for his creation, fallen as it is, it is surely strange if Christians who profess to worship the one true God—the Creator-Owner of heaven and earth—act in ways that are contrary to what he is doing. But true worship calls for a sharing in God’s concern, even his care for his creation. Therefore, to care for God’s creation is to worship the one Creator-Owner God with integrity.
Discipleship
A second reason for Christians to care for God’s creation is discipleship or formation in the likeness of Christ (Rom 8:29; Eph 4:13b).
Jesus taught,
‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. (Matt 22:37-40)
In the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:25-37), Jesus taught that the neighbour we are to love is not restricted to just the people living near us, but whoever we know to be in need.
It is now well-documented that the ones who will suffer disproportionately from the effects of climate change (e.g., environmental disasters, food and water shortage, health risks) are the least developed nations and the most vulnerable and poor among us. And until Christ returns, there are also the yet-to-be-born generations to consider. What sort of living conditions does Christ’s love call of his disciples to advocate, work for, or leave for these? Surely not the sort that we ourselves would not want to live in. Since caring for God’s creation also has the positive impact of slowing climate change or depletion of resources for the generations that will come after us, then it is an act of loving our neighbours as ourselves when we do so. It is an act of being perfected in Christ’s love.
Witness
A third reason for Christians to care for God’s creation is our witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The concern for sustainability as defined by the UN, while pragmatic and utilitarian, arguably has an element of love—a care for the young and the future generations to come. The young today are increasingly aware of the dangers of climate change, and they are more concerned than previous generations, perhaps because they have a greater probability of seeing the risks come to pass in their lifetime. The church is called to bear witness for Christ’s love for the world through its demonstration of love to the world. But what message will those outside the church receive if churches persist in showing no concern for an existential threat that they are feeling? What messages are churches sending to their younger members regarding their Christian faith?
In a local study, Dr Tan Soo Inn and Ho Wei Hao observed the differing contexts for evangelism faced across the Silent Generation to the Gen Zs, and how evangelism in today’s context (especially among the young) needs to consider some challenges which are arguably more pronounced now than in the past. They observed (in The Generations Project [2023], pp.104-6),
Millennials are particularly uncomfortable with the perceived lop-sided emphasis of most churches on the verbal transmission of the gospel without noticeable efforts in other areas such as mercy ministries, creation care, etc. This comes off to them as hypocrisy and an unhealthy obsession with “spiritual KPIs” that determine how well a church or a Christian has performed in God’s kingdom. This quest to find a more “balanced” approach to evangelism is in part due to the prevailing culture they live in.
So, caring for God’s creation serves as a practical witness of the gospel of who God is and the reality of the kingdom of God, in particular to the younger generations.
However, churches must guard themselves against approaching creation care merely as another means to the end to preaching the gospel to non-Christians. In the latter’s eyes, this is hypocritical and comes across as tokenism, and damages our witness. Instead, we must recover the biblical doctrine of creation care as one part of the very gospel that we witness to. A good starting point in Scripture is Col 1:15-20. We should note the repetition of the phrase “all things.” Christ’s salvation is not just a salvation of persons, but salvation—a reversal of the curse of sin—for all creation. Since the biblical vision of eternal life in the new heavens and new earth is one where everything in it is reconciled to Christ and lives in perfect harmony (Isa 65:17-25; Rev 21-22), that vision must shape how we live even in our present world, if indeed we believe what we follow Christ in proclaiming in our witness, “The kingdom of God has come near” (Mk 1:15).
Therefore, in our worship, discipleship and witness as people being saved together with all of creation through Christ, may God teach and strengthen us to care for his creation as he cares for us.
Poh Zhi-hui is humbled to be adopted as a child of God through Christ, and has been serving God as a pastor in the Trinity Annual Conference of the Methodist Church in Singapore since 2016.