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A Legacy for all our futures

Last summer I read some words which affected me a great deal. They are not original and it may be that you have heard them before, if you have think about them again. Those words, “Many think that man inherits the earth, they are wrong, we simply borrow it from our children”, have resonated with me for all the months since, as both a news-junkie and a Christian. Now I want to take a few moments in order that you realise their full meaning too. The first thing I must say is that we are right to ‘borrow’ the planet, we have no choice. My point is that we must be careful to keep it safe, and remember at all times, in everything we do, that the owners of this planet, those for whom we are working, are the young and the not yet born. That means every decision we make must be weighted by its implications for the future, it also means the environment and prospects of future world peace and security – current political hot potatoes - are paramount.

Much of the critical public perception afforded to George W. Bush as he began to seek a war against Saddam Hussein was due to the feeling that his motivation is more to do with rectifying his father’s mistakes than doing right by his children and grandchildren. This damages his credibility, especially when George Bush Senior does not come out openly in support of his son’s plans and the US administration appears divided among so-called ‘hawks’ and ‘doves.’ Simply recognising the difficulties that lay on both sides of the argument increased public support for any ‘regime change’ or other such action planned. The right impression was given by first gaining a United Nations mandate. Making the right noises is not enough though. The current US President is also guilty of criminally neglecting environmental concerns in favour of the massive oil corporations and multi-nationals, and in this regard makes no attempt to hide his partiality. In different ways, both of these decisions show George W. Bush appearing to neglect to consider the brevity of his time in charge, let alone that of his period in planetary loco parentis. What is worse is he forgets that the ramifications of all choices made behind his desk in the Oval Office will stretch long after he has returned to Texas, and long after his children have watched their own offspring make the same mistakes as them.

Photo: freefoto.com

The appalling events last summer in Soham, which coincided with my discovery of the words which precipitated this article, rightly showed us that society regards crime against children as the most appalling that can be committed. However, everyday we are slowly, and at times just as knowledgeably, threatening the lives of our children and our children’s children by our disregard of the consequences of our actions. It may be that with all the information the British and American governments have, regardless of the weapons inspection teams as yet finding nothing, attacking Iraq and deposing Saddam is the safest thing to do for our planet’s future. If the Iraqi dictator is truly amassing chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, a full understanding and assessment of the likely consequences of war is vital. In the case of the many environmental nightmares we are storing-up for the future, the possible consequences are just as easily imaginable by every single one of us as they have been for years but slower coming and less immediately tangible. With the depletion of fossil fuel stocks, the destruction of vital greenbelts, the over-use of land fill sites and the pollution of the atmosphere, to merely skim the surface of potential disasters, we are quite knowledgeably damaging this merely borrowed home of ours.

In making my point about how the sins committed now will come back to haunt future generations, I have support from the word of God as found in Exodus 20, verse 5, part of the Ten Commandments chapter: “I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.” In defiling the peace and well-being of His creation we are all dismissing Him and everything He has done for us. Numbers 18, verse 20, provides us with an example of God stripping an individual of his inheritance on the grounds of his allowing suffering, death and sacrifice while he was left in charge. “And the Lord spake unto Aaron. Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them.” God casts out Aaron and condemns future generations with these words from Numbers 18 verse 1, “Thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.” Without thought for the consequences of our actions now, we will share Aaron’s fate. In Isaiah 60 verse 21, God directly equates inheritance of the Earth with “the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.” This too must be remembered when we cast our lots and make decisions, all of which will affect the future of our planet. Finally, Psalm 37 verse 9 supports my case when it tells us, “Evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.” We must bear in mind the will of God in all that we do. For the sakes of our Father, our children and ourselves, we must never commit to unilateral action without recognising the results - we cannot risk it.

The burden of this planet’s guardianship lies with us, however the ownership most assuredly does not. If we do not remember that the earth is only borrowed, our children will not see the glory of God’s creation here on Earth. We will lose forever our legacy to our children; those whom we claim to love the most. Can you bear that thought? I know I can’t.

Adam Ellis

Last modified: 25th November 2005