Should Christians Care About the Planet?

The short answer: Yes. The earth belongs to God, He called it very good, and He gave human beings the job of looking after it. Christians differ on particular policies, but caring for creation is part of loving its Maker and loving our neighbours.

Maybe you’ve heard people say Christians don’t care about the environment because they think this world is going to burn anyway. Maybe you care a lot about climate, plastic in the oceans or disappearing species, and you’ve wondered whether that fits with your faith. It does.

It’s God’s world

The Bible starts with God making everything, and at the end of the sixth day, “God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). Creation isn’t just a stage for the human story. God delights in it. “How many are Your works, O LORD! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures” (Psalm 104:24). “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1).

And it belongs to Him, not us: “The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof” (Psalm 24:1). We’re tenants, not owners. God told Israel, “The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine” (Leviticus 25:23).

Rule means care

God told the first humans to “fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air” (Genesis 1:28). Some people have read that as permission to use the earth however we like. But the next chapter shows what ruling means: “the LORD God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it” (Genesis 2:15). To cultivate is to make things grow; to keep is to guard and protect.

Think of it like a gardener looking after someone else’s garden. He can plant, harvest and enjoy it, but he answers to the owner. And the Bible cares about animals too: “A righteous man regards the life of his animal” (Proverbs 12:10).

It isn’t going in the bin

The Bible doesn’t say God will throw this world away. It says creation itself “will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). God’s plan is to renew His world, not scrap it. In Revelation, God judges those who wreck it, and the time comes “to destroy those who destroy the earth” (Revelation 11:18). The world matters to God, so it should matter to us.

Loving our neighbours

Caring for the planet is also about people. Polluted rivers, failed harvests and poisoned air usually hurt the poorest people first, people who can’t move somewhere else. Jesus told us to love our neighbours as ourselves, and some of our neighbours live downstream from our rubbish.

Not worshipping nature

There’s a balance to keep. Paul warned about people who “worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25). Creation is beautiful, but it isn’t God. Christians care for the earth because they love the One who made it, not because the earth is divine. That also means we don’t have to carry the weight of saving the world on our own shoulders. We do our part with hope, because God holds the future.

Where Christians differ

Christians agree that we should look after creation. They don’t always agree about how: which government policies work best, how to balance jobs and the environment, or how urgent particular problems are. Those are real debates, and good Christians come down in different places. What we shouldn’t do is shrug and say it doesn’t matter.

What can you do?

You don’t have to fix everything. Start small: waste less, treat animals kindly, pick up litter, learn about where your food and clothes come from. Spend time outside and let creation lead you to worship. When Jesus wanted to teach about God’s care, He said, “Look at the birds of the air” (Matthew 6:26). Sometimes the first step in caring for the world is simply to notice it.

Think about it: What part of creation makes you most aware of God? What’s one way you could look after it this week?

Go deeper: St. Francis of Assisi by G. K. Chesterton — Chesterton describes Francis’s Canticle of the Sun, in which he called fire his brother and water his sister, and his courtesy to every creature, like asking the chattering birds, “Little sisters, if you have now had your say, it is time that I also should be heard.” Start with chapter 6, “The Little Poor Man”.