Returning to our campsite from a mountain biking escapade, my dad and I found a small, brown stone, smooth from running stream water, with a white cross painted on its surface along with a note inviting us to come to a church service at the campgrounds the next morning. Once we got a campfire going, I picked up the rock and studied it. Originally, I was touched that someone had made it their ministry to reach out to others at that campground, but I felt that there was a bigger message symbolized by this painted rock that I hadn’t put my finger on yet. In the weeks that have gone by since then, especially as forest fires eat away at our state’s homes, wildlife habitats and reforested and aged trees, my thoughts have continuously returned to that little stone and the meaningful symbol it has become for me. This piece of nature and Christianity, stitched together, has forced me to explore the question: As a Christian, should I be concerned with caring for not just people but the Earth itself?

Of course, the answer is yes. But if we already know this, why aren’t we? Is it because we’re apathetic? Is it because we tend to equate environmental regulations with liberalism, and that turns us away? I’m young. I don’t know the Bible cover to cover, verse by verse. I haven’t been thoroughly educated at a seminary. But I love nature, and I love God, and I can clearly see how the two go hand-in-hand. When I look at that brown stone, this is what I actually see:

Rain forests continue to shrink in size. Species continue to go extinct. Deserts are eating the other biomes around them. Ocean acidification is destroying the Great Barrier Reef. This is our fault. We watch factories puff out thick smoke that pollutes the environment and comment how it looks like clouds instead of realizing how scary that is. Companies are spending more money to make cars faster and sleeker, and we are supporting getting more bang for our buck when we should be encouraging research for alternative forms of fuel. On a smaller scale, staggering amounts of plastic water bottles fill our landfills because we’d rather not fill reusable bottles from the tap. Some of the boys I go to school with talk about the time they spend in the deer stand communing with nature and God as they throw their Coke bottles and dip cans on the ground, and I wonder how a person can claim to love God and nature and do such a thoughtless act. These forest fires are a perfect reminder of this: Nature destroys on its own; we shouldn’t be adding to the destruction.

I have a responsibility, as do you. We read in Genesis 1 where God tells man to rule over every living creature. Genesis 2:15 says, “God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” We’ve heard all of our lives that God has assigned us to be caretakers of the Earth, but have we ever grasped the enormity of this? Not only are we neglecting our duty to care for the earth, we are harming it.

Through God we are given integrity. This means we are to be ethical, decent, respectable and wise. Any person with even an ounce of those qualities should know that the way we are treating the Earth is not right, and he/she should be moved enough to rectify. A fairly well-known Native American proverb is that we do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.

Not only that, but Job 12:8 says, “Speak to the earth and it will teach you…” God has given us nature as a way to communicate with us and provide for us. Nature is a gift. Are we grateful or abusive? Are we appreciative or destructive? I’ve seen countless posts lately about the beautiful, cool weather and the colorful fall leaves, but how can we bask in the glory of something while simultaneously destroying it? Anyone that has ever worked hard to achieve a goal knows the pride and satisfaction that comes with completing it. If we want to experience true celebration of the Earth’s beauty, we must first put in the work to keep it that way.

However, please don’t misunderstand me. A very important thing to remember is all of this that God has created, He has created for our enjoyment. Mountains, waterfalls, sunsets and snowflakes are meant to bring us joy. Take pictures with those red fall leaves you love so much, go and gaze at the stars, dig your toes in the sand at the beach, but also let those things be a reminder of your responsibility and integrity. Find your own little brown stone, and go do some good.