That day we walked together in the park and while we chatted he stopped to pick up any trash that he found in front, at first, I thought about how nice he was, but there came a time when I thought how “weird” it was, yes, a bit intense to me. Because it’s not “normal” to go down the street like that just picking up trash that others threw. So, I asked him: why do you do it? And he told me that for him it was annoying to see it lying there and that he did not understand why it was so complicated for others to put it where it is supposed to go, inside of the trash can. Of course, I agreed with him, as a child I learned that if there was no dumpster nearby, my garbage would go with me to the house if it was necessary to discard it correctly, but being honest, I never reached his extremes unless it was a massive event where we all went specifically to clean a park, community, etc. But that was not all, right in the middle of his explanation he got to see a passerby throwing a cookie bag and his immediate reaction was to run … and guess what? He took the package, stopped the passer-by and told him: Mr. excuse me, the man stopped and turned around and my friend put the bag in his hands. I was scared, looking for a place to hide, thinking How daring! at what moment the man got angry, hit him or at least yelled at him, but his reaction by God’s grace was peaceful.

When I saw that he survived, I learned that as a good steward who has been entrusted with the administration and good care of creation, I must defend it swiftly. Let’s passionate, comply by all means, infect others and teach each day about its importance, well we know that the damage to our planet could be irreversible, there may not be total cure, but what we do know is that if we take good care of it We can have a more sustainable world, with small changes that will mark gigantic differences.

The care of creation is a mandate from God, who created us and ordered us to master (from his original in Hebrew “Shamar” which means to care in a gentle and loving way) over everything created (Genesis 1:26).

Another interesting point on the biblical level is that constant concern of God to restore everything created with him. John 3:16 in its original Greek instead of the word world mentions the word cosmos = creation, so Jesus’ sacrifice pointed to a total restoration of the universe.

So, having an understanding that each and every one of us has an important responsibility in the care of creation, it is important to take into account the following recommendations:

1. Find out about the current situation of our planet, its challenges and opportunities.

2. Act, be moved by the compassion of Christ, for that love of you to your family and to the rest of humanity that together are residents of the world:

  • Recycle
  • Avoid the use of bags and other plastics or non-recyclable materials.
  • Do not waste food. Every day tons of food are thrown away, while many people continue to starve around the world.
  • Take care of the water resource.
  • Do not waste energy, turn off your electric devices if you are not using them.
  • Do justice, promote, motivate, denounce.
  • Plant a tree

3. Pray; pray that the church be the first to rise with programs that promote the practice of a good stewardship of creation, among its members and communities

Remember that you can also make small changes in your daily routine. I once heard a young woman say that she had stopped using regular straws because they were not made of recyclable material, but since she was so used to using it, she began to investigate other options and found that using a bamboo straw, which would be reusable It was his best option and since then his bag has been wrapped in a nice bamboo straw. I have learned from others that as well as quitting smoking, they have disposed of habits that threaten the preservation of the environment.

We were called to be agents of transformation, do your part, evaluate yourself and make the necessary changes. Let’s raise our voices! Promote the care of our environment. Let us be an example.

Dhariana Balbuena

NCM Coordinator

Mesoamerica Region