Caring for the environment is not a modern agenda imported into Christianity — it is humanity’s first assignment. God placed Adam in the garden “to work it and take care of it” (Genesis 2:15), declared creation good before humans existed (Genesis 1), and retains ownership of it all: “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1). Scripture presents the natural world as God’s handiwork that declares His glory (Psalm 19:1), commands rest for the land itself (Leviticus 25), and looks forward to creation’s renewal, not its abandonment (Romans 8:19–21). For Kenyan Christians, creation care is both discipleship and neighbour-love — because environmental damage hurts the poorest first.
Ask what topics belong in church, and “the environment” rarely makes the list. It can sound political, or like a distraction from the Gospel. But open the Bible at its very first pages and you find something surprising: before there was a fall, a law, or a nation of Israel, there was a human being placed in a garden with a job — to tend it.
The First Job Description
“The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (Genesis 2:15). The Hebrew words here — abad (to work, serve) and shamar (to keep, guard, watch over) — are strong ones; shamar is the same word used in the priestly blessing, “the LORD bless you and keep you” (Numbers 6:24). Humanity’s original calling was to serve and guard the earth the way God keeps His people.
The “dominion” God grants in Genesis 1:28 must be read in that light. Dominion in Scripture is never licence to exploit — it is the responsibility of a ruler who answers to a higher King. The model of dominion is Christ Himself, who rules by serving. A farmer who exhausts his soil, a nation that poisons its rivers, a generation that fells its forests without replanting — these are not exercising dominion; they are vandalizing Someone Else’s property.
Whose Earth Is It, Anyway?
Scripture is blunt about ownership: “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1). “Every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10). We are tenants and stewards, never landlords.
And the Owner cares about His property. Creation was declared “good” six times before humanity arrived, and “very good” after (Genesis 1). The heavens “declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1). God feeds the birds (Matthew 6:26), clothes the lilies (Matthew 6:28–30), and notices every sparrow that falls (Matthew 10:29). After the flood, God made His covenant not only with Noah but “with every living creature” (Genesis 9:10). A world God values this much cannot be worthless to God’s people.
Old Testament law even legislated environmental limits: every seventh year the land itself was to rest (Leviticus 25:4), fruit trees were protected even in wartime (Deuteronomy 20:19), and an ox treading grain was not to be muzzled (Deuteronomy 25:4). The principle underneath is consistent: creation is not raw material to be consumed to exhaustion; it has a God-given rhythm and dignity.
Creation Care Is Neighbour Care
Here is where the environment stops being an abstract “issue” and becomes a Kenyan reality. When rains fail or come as floods, it is not the wealthy who suffer first — it is the smallholder farmer, the pastoralist watching herds die in drought, the family in the informal settlement beside the choked river. Deforested hillsides become deadly landslides; degraded rangelands become hunger; polluted water becomes children’s disease.
That means environmental neglect is not merely bad management — it is a failure to love our neighbour (Mark 12:31), and often a failure of justice toward the poor, about which Scripture is relentless (Proverbs 14:31, Amos 5:24). Conversely, the Kenyan church that plants trees, protects a spring, or cleans a riverbed is doing neighbour-love with a spade in its hands. Kenya has also given the world a powerful example of what tree-planting can mean for both land and communities — and churches, with land, members, and moral voice in every community, are uniquely placed to lead here.
Doesn’t It All Burn Anyway?
Some Christians shrug at creation care because “this world is passing away.” But Scripture’s hope is not the abandonment of creation — it is its liberation. “The creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed… in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay” (Romans 8:19–21). The biblical story ends not with souls escaping earth, but with “a new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1) and God dwelling with His people.
We do not know the architecture of that renewal — but we know the direction: God redeems His creation; He does not despise it. Caring for the earth now is living toward that future, the same way we pursue holiness now although perfection awaits. Neglecting creation because Christ will renew it makes as much sense as neglecting our bodies because we will be resurrected.
What Can One Congregation Do?
Creation care scales down to very ordinary obedience:
- Plant and protect trees — on church land, at schools, at homes; mark church calendars with planting days in the rainy seasons.
- Refuse to litter, and clean what others littered — a congregation that cleans its neighbourhood preaches without words.
- Steward water — harvest rainwater at the church, protect springs, avoid waste.
- Teach it — let children in church school learn Genesis 2:15 alongside John 3:16; both are God’s Word.
- Speak up — support community efforts against illegal dumping, deforestation, and pollution, as an act of justice for the poor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is environmentalism compatible with Christianity?
Caring for creation is a biblical mandate older than the fall (Genesis 2:15). Christians may debate specific policies, but the underlying duty — to serve and guard God’s earth — is not a secular import; it is our first vocation. What Christians reject is worshipping creation rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25); we care for the earth precisely because it is His.
Doesn’t “dominion” in Genesis 1:28 mean humans can use the earth however they want?
No. Biblical dominion is stewardship under God’s authority, modelled on God’s own kingship — which provides, protects, and keeps. Exploitation that ruins land, water, and creatures answers to the Owner: “The earth is the LORD’s” (Psalm 24:1).
What can I personally do that actually matters?
Start where your hands reach: plant trees in the rainy season, stop littering and join clean-ups, conserve water and energy, and teach children why it matters. Small faithfulness, multiplied across congregations, changes landscapes — and testifies to the God who made them.
Final Thoughts
The Bible begins in a garden, ends in a garden city, and in between never stops insisting that the earth belongs to the LORD. Creation care is not a fashionable add-on to the Gospel; it is a strand of obedience running from Genesis 2:15 to Revelation 21. A church that loves its Maker will not trash His handiwork — and in a nation where the land’s health and the people’s welfare are so tightly bound together, tending creation may be one of the most practical ways Kenyan Christians love their neighbours this year.
Want to Serve Your Community — and God’s Creation?
Our parishes run community service activities throughout the year. Reach out to join the next one.
Scripture quotations are drawn from the New International Version. Compiled by the Editorial Desk.