Save the ___________(fill in the blank)

When I was in middle school, I tried to save a bit of creation. The memory is a little fuzzy, but here's what I remember. My friend, Eleanor, and I began talking about animal rights. After a few conversations, we decided to make our fellow preteen colleagues aware of the plight of various animals. See we were disgusted with animal products in our makeup and hairspray (yes it was the late 80's and everyone used hairspray). We were even more disgusted with how the animals were treated before they were massacred for our vanity. We boycotted make-up and hairspray and eventually set up a table in the lunch room to raise awareness. I think we even raised a few bucks to donate to the cause.

This was my first taste of Genesis 2:15, "Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it." The Hebrew word for cultivate is "abad" (Strong's H5647) which means to serve and the Hebrew word for keep is "shamar" (Strong's H8104) which means to protect.

Not only did God create Man to rule over the animals of the earth (Genesis 1:26) but He set Man up as the caretaker. We are to be in authority over creation with a caring heart. We are to cultivate the land--serve  and protect it. This is the first assignment of servant leadership that God gives to Man.

Our servant leadership of the earth never is to become idol worship of the earth. Yes, I recycle, reuse, and re-purpose.  However, my choices aren't rooted in a cause anymore. My choices are rooted in the knowledge of my position as a human in God's creation. I choose to honor Him in how I take care of His creation. I know that eventually this earth will pass away- it is under the same curse of death that we are all under, but sometimes its more about the journey then it is the destination.