Sus·tain·a·ble /səˈstānəb(ə)l/ – Noun: Practice that can be upheld or defended, and is viable over the long term.
The Bible is clear in its call to "creation care." The growing consensus is that we are in a time of existential environmental crisis. We actively advocate for creation care through supporting nonprofits with this focus, but the power is in your hands, to advocate from the pulpit. We invite others to be earth advocates, and so can you. Here are some biblical references that could be of use.
Top 10 Bible Verses on Sustainability
- And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. – Genesis 1:10-12
- And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. – Genesis 1:20-21
- So God created humanity in God's own image, in the image of God, God created both male and female. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. – Genesis 1:27-30
- And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. – Genesis 9:9-10
- So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the Lord dwell among the children of Israel. – Numbers 35:33-34
- But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. – Deuteronomy 5:14 (& Exodus 23:12)
- Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord's thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is. – Deuteronomy 10:14
- The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For God hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. – Psalm 24:1-2 (quoted by Paul in 1 Cor. 10:26)
- The heavens are Thine, the earth also is Thine: as for the world and the fullness thereof, Thou hast founded them. The north and the south Thou hast created them. -Psalm 89:11-12a
- [And Jesus said:] "Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?" – Luke 12:6 (also Matt. 10:29)
What are WebDefs?
WebDefs – simple definitions of key terms relating to ministry and healing arts – are a regular feature of NHM Ministrants. Offered (where applicable) in conjunction with select key scriptural passages and analysis, WebDefs can be a useful starting place for exploring a topic of interest.