Earth Day and Family

On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans demonstrated in streets, parks, and auditoriums all across the country. The demonstrators were concerned about toxins in the air and water.  No legal or regulatory mechanisms were in place to protect our environment. Supporters of this effort came from almost every walk of life. The result of that first Earth Day was the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts.

I was only three and a half years old, so I do not remember any of this. Nor was I ever really concerned about the environment. Of course, I would prefer clean air and water, but that was a concern for others.

Nearly 48 years later, I find myself caring a lot more. I am not an extremist about it, but I do what I can including recycling. It is not a political issue for me. I merely want to leave this world in better shape than I found it.

Let us go back a few thousand years. (Depending on your theology, it may be a few million years, but that is another topic of discussion.) The original Earth Day was a week-long demonstration of God’s power. It is when he created the Earth. In Genesis 1, it says the earth was formless and void.  God decided to do something about it. In six days, he shaped it into what he wanted, and then he rested.

Seven times in the chapter, God looked at what he made and saw that “it was good.” He also placed man in the Garden of Eden to “work it and take care of it.”  From the beginning, we were supposed to take care of what God made. From that point until 1970, we fell short of keeping this planet in the shape God created it. People have made progress, but the responsibility that God gave us is ongoing.

I, personally, cannot create a world. I am no god, apparently. However, with the help of God and my wife, I have been able to create a family. Each step of the way, I looked at it and thought it was good.

That does not mean I have not made mistakes because I have made plenty. I can only work and care for it to help it stay right. That is my responsibility.

Too many people look at the families they created and see no good in them. Some tell their children regularly that they are bad. Some say to their children they will probably end up in jail or dead. Negative thoughts and words are not the way we are to care for our children. We need to nurture them and raise them into people with hope and a future.

We become more like our parents as we get older than we would like to admit. Your children will grow to be more like you. Raise them up to be positive. See the good that is in them. Mold them into happy, respectful, and productive individuals.

They are the world that you created. Work it, care for it, nurture it, and watch it grow into something good.