Why?

1. Creation belongs to God. We are stewards of what is His.

Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord’s and all it holds, the world and those who live there.

Psalm 50:10-11 For every animal of the forest is mine, beasts by the thousands on my mountains. I know every bird of the heavens; the creatures of the field belong to me.

2. Creation reveals the Creator. We can find God in what He has made. Many people are passionate about the environment and animals. We can show them through God’s Word that God cares about what they care about and that God cares for them.

Romans 1:20 Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made.

Psalm 19:2 The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky proclaims its builder’s craft.

3. Creation sings God’s praises. No wonder the Enemy wants to ruin it.

1 Chronicles 16:31-34 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” Let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!

Psalm 148:4-13 Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds, kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth, young men and maidens, old men and children. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.

4. God told us to.

Genesis 2:14 The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

5. Creation inspires worship of the Creator.
Psalm 104:24-25, 27-28, 31 How varied are your works, Lord! In wisdom you have wrought them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Look at the sea, great and wide! It teems with countless beings, living things both large and small. All of these look to you to give them food in due time. When you give to them, they gather; when you open your hand, they are will filled. May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord be glad in these works!
Psalm 95:4-6 In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker

6. God loves creation. He cares for the animals and calls mercilessness towards them wicked.

Genesis 1:25 God made all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of cattle, and all kinds of creeping things on the earth. God saw how good it was.

Genesis 9:9-10 “See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you: all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals that were with you and came out of the ark.”

Psalm 145:9 The Lord is good to all, compassionate to every creature.

Proverbs 12:10 The just man is kind to his beast, but the heart of the wicked is merciless.

7. Sin harms creation.

Jer. 12:4 How long must the earth mourn, the green of the whole countryside wither? For the wickedness of those who dwell in it. Beasts and birds disappear, because they say, “God does not see our ways.”

Romans 8:21-22 that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now.

8. We cannot truly care for people without caring for creation. God made creation to sustain people and animals. It cannot do this to its full extent when it is degraded. Environmental issues are some of the greatest problems people face today such as: lack of access to clean water, poor/eroded soils, and pollution.

Psalm 104: 14 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for the labor of man, so that he may bring forth food from the earth.

Isaiah 43:20-21 The wild animals of the desert honor me, the jackals and ostriches, because I put water in the desert and streams in the wilderness, to quench the thirst of my chosen people the people whom I formed for myself, so they might praise me.

Psalm 104:14-18 You raise grass for the cattle and plants for our beasts of burden. You bring bread from the earth and wine to gladden our hearts, oil to make our faces gleam, food to build our strength. The trees of the Lord drink their fill, the cedars of Lebanon, which you planted. There the birds build their nests; junipers are the home of the stork. The high mountains are for wild goats; the rocky cliffs, a refuge for badgers.

Exodus 23:10-12 For six years you may sow your land and gather in its produce. But the seventh year you shall let the land lie untilled and unharvested, that the poor among you may eat of it and the beasts of the field may eat what the poor leave. So also shall you do in regard to your vineyard and your olive grove. For six days you may do your work, but on the seventh day you must rest, that your ox and your ass may also have rest.