The Good Earth

^{Miscellaneous thoughts on New Year’s day:}

^{One of the practices that we as humans have is to make a superabundance of resolutions that we have no real design in keeping. I am only making one this year. With only one, I might have a better chance of working to change my little corner of the world. I will try my best to be much more aware of my surroundings, and how I usually disrespect them. I am not going to become an eco-freak, but I am going to take care on what and how I waste.}

^{From the book of Genesis, God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” The earth feeds us, all 6 billion of us. We have to stop abusing our home. Towards the end of the first chapter of Genesis, God stepped back, looked at his creation, and declared that it was very good.}

^{I wonder how good it is today.}

^{One of my abuses is the use of my car; I am guilty of over using it. I have an eco-friendly car, if there is such a thing. I-95 is a parking lot most hours of most days. I can’t open the window without breathing all the exhaust fumes.}

^{Rather than convince our political leaders that we must increase mass transit, we allow and encourage them to pave over more of the Earth to allow us to drive even more.}

^{Keeping with the idea of driving everywhere, I look on the shoulders of I-95 and see a garbage dump. It seems that many people don’t know that they can keep their garbage in their car and then put in receptacles at rest stops. Or, they may just not care. Our highways are garbage cans for the uncaring; but our city streets are even worse. The trash I see in the gutters characterize a barbaric society.}

^{If we cannot place our garbage in proper waste baskets, it is highly unlikely that we can begin respect the Earth God gave us.}

^{If I take this one step further, if we cannot respect the Earth, how can we respect each other. We are so consumed by our own needs that we place our desires, our comfort ahead of all else. This includes people, animals, and plants; everything that God declared very good.}

^{My prayer this first day of 2018 is that all people take the time to think of others before themselves to allow others to enjoy the life that God has given us.}