The Great Theft

We live in a culture which sees the Creation as something to be used.  It really goes beyond using to abusing and exploiting.  Our contemporary mindset views the Creation as an inexhaustible resource that provides a easy means of fattening our bank accounts.  Water wells are dug without any thought to the long term affect the drilling has on the underground aquifers.  The color green is disappearing from the face of the earth in favor of asphalt, concrete, and buildings without any regard for the life giving process of photosynthesis.    

It is obvious that we have forgotten an important Word which the Scripture says about the Creation.  In Hebrews 2:10 it says, "It is fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist..."  All the things we use to fuel our insatiable greed are not here for us to handle carelessly, but with a reverence that honors the Creator of all things.  Everything that is bears the mark of the holy.  The first Words of Genesis speak of every part of creation coming into existence with the imprint of the hands of the Creator God upon it.  Not only is everything that is holy, with the words "for whom" we are reminded that the Creation was brought into being not for us, but for the Creator.  In other words, what we use and exploit for personal gain belongs not to us, but to the One who created it.    

As we begin to think of what we have done, a horrible thought comes to mind.  It is a thought birthed by number eight of the Ten Commandments.  In Exodus 20:15, the Word of God says, "You shall not steal."  Stealing is an act of taking what belongs to another for our own personal use or gain.  Could it be that we are not only guilty of abusing the Creation, but also guilty of stealing it from the One to whom it belongs?  May God have mercy upon us all.