Our Relation To Others Through Creation (Part 1)

Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the Lord. Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself (Lev. 19:16-18 NIV).

We tend to think of technology as something new. It isn’t. It’s been around since Adam. Technology is nothing more than creative people using the elements of the creation to do their work. Unfortunately, because of Adam’s sin and the resultant curse on the creation, technological processes and products have always been used in ways both evil and good. Cain could use a stick he had sharpened to till the soil—and he could use it to kill his brother.

Technology is significant today because of its extent, its effectiveness, and its capacity to bring about rapid change. Technological skill and increased scientific knowledge, along with the advantages and disadvantages, complicate living in ways unimagined just 50 years ago.

This knowledge, which arises out of God’s “other book” of general revelation, raises many questions about how Christians ought to live as they seek to glorify the Creator through obedience to His mandates—in particular the mandate to love our neighbor. Many pages could be written to illustrate both the benefits and dangers we have inherited through our technology. Included in the discussion would be issues like human-caused global climate change, air and water pollution, soil erosion, noise pollution, species loss, and fisheries depletion.

The point of such a delineation for Christians would be to understand that the possibility for us to negatively influence our neighbor’s life and livelihood has increased a thousandfold since Bible times. This understanding increases our responsibility to consider others in all we do. It is tempting for us to ignore information about the possible negative effects of our behavior and lifestyles. But it is just as sinful to do that today as it was when life was simpler.

We who believe in Christ the Creator have an obligation to make all our choices with compassionate concern for our neighbors next door, down stream, or down wind from us. Technology can make our living easier, more comfortable, more exciting, and more profitable. At the same time, it can devastate God’s creation in such a way that suffering is created for people on the other side of the street—and on the other side of the globe.

How can we celebrate the wonder of God in creation?
By working diligently to see that our use of the creation does not hurt our neighbor—near or far, directly or indirectly.