Subjected to Frustration

Jeff Stahler

The Columbus Dispatch- Ohio

I remember hearing in church or some youth camp about how man is God's only creation that does not do what it's supposed to do. Everything else does it's designated task, but man sins. I couldn't find an exact verse that said this explicitly, but a friend said Cicero and Erasmus made this argument. Romans 8:19-22 says:

The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

Though I found this verse through a website dedicated to Christian environmental stewardship, I'm not convinced it is a resounding condemnation against what man has done to the environment. The creation waits for the coming glory of the Kingdom of Heaven the same way the Roman church was eager for this day, and God was the one who subjected creation to frustration according to these verses. However, if one believes that this frustration comes from mankind's sins, then the Kingdom of Heaven's liberation on earth would be the removal of sin's effects from nature. Our materialism, gluttony, and selfishness would no longer destroy the environment. Perhaps it all comes down to interpretation, but there are plenty of other verses about mankind's responsibility for creation (example- Psalms 8:6-8). I'm sure some of my readers are much more knowledgeable in this discourse and can say something wiser, and I haven't researched this enough.

I still like the thought that all of nature does its designated task while man sins. It's a rather humbling thought, and this political cartoon reminded me of it. I love how Jeff Stahler's cartoon about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill criticizes mankind for being so reckless with nature. I thought the simple image with minimum words made a powerful statement, and I wanted to share it on this blog. I'm obviously subjecting my own interpretation onto the cartoon and cannot know what Stahler really believes. Still, I believe this message is important: mankind is just one of God's creations; we do not respect the rest of creation, including other humans, enough.