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Christians’ role in environmental protection crucial
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• Negative practices are destroying the environment
The environment is key to the survival and wellbeing of people as it provides wide-range benefits, such as air, food and water as well as many resources or materials needed for use in homes, work places and for development.
These notwithstanding, negative practices such as pollution, poor farming practices, burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, have resulted in climate change, soil erosion, poor quality of air and water and environmental degradation.
The harmful impact of the destruction of the environment is not restricted to various communities. It affects the entire country, human behaviour, and prompts mass migration and conflict over clean water and food.
Africa, including Ghana, incidentally is the poorest continent, but paradoxically the most endowed with natural resources. This is partly because of the improper management of resources and environment.
What an irony? According to the United Nation Environment Programme (UNEP), Africa has 40 percent of the world’s gold and up to 90 percent of its chromium and platinum.
The continent is endowed with the largest reserves of cobalt, diamond, platinum and uranium in the world. Africa has 65 per cent of the world’s arable land and ten percent of renewable fresh water source.
The ecology of Africa can be factored into the development of the continent. Enviably, for instance, Ghana is located at the center of the world and the Equator and Greenwich meridian pass through the country.
The Gulf of Guinea lies at the coastline of Ghana. These are great assets that must consciously be included in the development agenda of the nation, including environmental protection measures.
The wildlife, vegetation and landscape of Ghana, particularly offer resources for the promotion of development. All that is needed is judicious use and protection of the environment.
Africa for that matter Ghana has become the “clean” plate, as Europe and the Americas have hit the bottom of the rock. Almost every development, advancement and inventions have been pursued already.
Africa as “clean plate” must learn from advanced nation’s mistakes and create simple livelihood and alternative development modules, to protect the environment.
Certainly, God has blessed Africa with enormous resources to enable the people acquire basic needs, including water, food and shelter. This means that humans were created to be wealth and prosperous.
Africa is most blessed in terms of natural resources and human capital and some scholars argue that the continent is the mother of all other continents.
Ghana for example is endowed with numerous natural resources like gold, diamond, bauxite and even oil to mention a few.
But, systems operated by human beings have always neglected God in the running and management of the environment and resources.
The search for effective solutions to environmental challenges will continue. Individuals, opinion leaders, non-governmental organisations (NGO), governments and international bodies, have not relented efforts at conserving nature.
Though religious bodies have not been left out of the effort to protect the environment, the time has come for Churches or Christians to intensify their determination to obey God’s commandment about nature.
Already, many Christians, agree that God commands human beings to care for nature, which explains why some churches participate in tree planting, clean ups, education of the congregation and public on the need for environmental conservation for sustainable development.
Indeed, Christians accept environmental protection as a religious obligation. God has clearly ordered humanity to be responsible for the environment, when in Genesis 2:15, he says “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Christians believe that all created things belong to God and that they are accountable to Him as stewards of creation.
Additionally, God has commissioned Christians to rule over creation in a way that would sustain, protect and enhance His works so that all creation may fulfill the purposes God intended for it. Humanity is expected to manage the environment not simply for our benefit, but for God′s glory.
If we fail to care for the environment as God′s people, we will reap the consequences. Protecting the environment is equally important as propagating the gospel, because God is concerned with both the physical and spiritual world.
Christians are reminded that in Genesis 1: 26-28, God sensitises us to the importance of the environment, when he says: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Concern for the environment may open opportunities for Christians to share with people of other religions that their service to creation overflows from love for God, the creator.
God’s love for the environment is so profound that in Deuteronomy 20:19, he cautioned warring factions that “When you besiege a city for a long time, making war against it in order to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them. You may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down. Are the trees in the field human, that they should be besieged by you?”
According to John Mbiti, in his book, ‘’The Three Religions of Africa’’, God put man in charge of His creation. Islam and Traditional African Religion affirm this and Christian religion amplifies the assertion. The question, therefore, is, has Christianity failed in assisting in the management of resources and protection of the environment?
God has endowed every nation with plants and herbs for curing diseases, including HIV AIDS, hypertension, diabetes, strokes and cancers. Leaves, barks of trees and roots can be used for the preparation of herbal medicines in the country. Trees also provide food, oxygen, help save energy, clean the air and help combat climate change.
Ghana is not exempted from this blessing. By destroying the environment, we are destroying sources of herbal medicine.
It is interesting to note that that forest is a psychological therapy to ill-health. The world’s foremost expert in forest medicine and immunology, Dr Qing Li, considering the role nature plays in health, said that: “There is no medicine you can take that has such a direct influence on your health as a walk in a beautiful forest.”
This strengthens our resolve to conserve nature, especially forests and water bodies, if we are to remain healthy and strong.
To conserve our environment requires proper and prudent use of resources, to satisfy present and future needs. Though our development is dependent on the environment, we should check logging or cutting down of trees, quarrying, sand winning, Illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, open defecation (especially in water bodies) and release of toxic gases.
American President Franklin Roosevelt, wary of the negative effect of environmental degradation, warned that “a nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.”
Aside spiritual development, there is the urgent need for Christians to take part in initiatives that seek to tackle ecological, biodiversity, environmental and climatic change issues as a religious duty.
Undoubtedly, Christians are already playing significant roles in national development. But this would be much felt, if apart from propagating the gospel, they take part in environmental conservation and proclaim to the entire world.
[The writer is in-charge of Teshie Ajorman Presbyterian Church of Ghana]
By Rev. Dr. Elias Kwaku Asiamah
Features
Confronting newborn abandonment in Ghana: When a cry for help is heard in a dustbin – Part 2
The root causes: It is never just one reason
My years of counselling at CPAC show me abandonment is rarely an act of malice. It is the tragic endpoint of seven overwhelming distresses:
1. Severe maternal mental illness —The hidden emergency
a) Clinical Postpartum Depression (PPD): This is far beyond “baby blues.” It is a severe mood disorder that can appear weeks to months after birth. Due to a massive drop in hormones, extreme sleep deprivation, and emotional exhaustion, the mother feels deep sadness, worthlessness, and complete emotional numbness towards her baby. Picture: A new mother sits by her bed all day, staring blankly. Her baby cries for hours, but she cannot lift her hands to carry the baby. She whispers, “This baby would be better off without me.” She does not hate the baby; she feels she has completely failed as a mother.
b) Peripartum Psychosis (Postpartum Psychosis): This is a psychiatric emergency. Rare but extremely dangerous, appearing suddenly within the first 2-3 weeks after delivery. The mother completely loses touch with reality. She hears commanding voices telling her to abandon the baby, or believes the baby is possessed by an evil spirit or is a “spirit child” who will bring a curse. Picture: A mother genuinely believes she heard a voice saying, “Leave this child at the crossroads at midnight or your family will die.” She abandons the baby not out of hatred, but because her broken mind believes she is obeying a higher spiritual order to save her family.
c) Pre-existing untreated Schizophrenia: This is a chronic, severe mental disorder that existed before the pregnancy. The stress of pregnancy and labour shatters her fragile coping. She suffers from paranoid delusions — believing people want to poison her and the baby — flat affect (zero facial expression), and grossly disorganised thinking, making it impossible to plan how to feed or clean a baby. Picture: A young woman whose family called her illness “spiritual attack” instead of taking her for medication wanders away after delivery, completely forgetting she even gave birth, leaving the infant behind.
2. Extreme socio-economic deprivation: For many girls in some parts of Ghana such as Kasoa, Madina, or Bekwai, poverty is not a statistic; it is a daily panic. No money for antenatal care, no money for hospital delivery, no money for baby diapers or formula. When a mother cannot feed herself, the thought of feeding another mouth feels impossible. Some mothers say, “I left her where someone richer would find her, because I could not watch her starve to death in my hands.” It is a distorted act of survival.
3. Intense societal stigma and shame: In Ghana, pregnancy outside marriage, teenage pregnancy, or pregnancy from rape can bring extreme family rejection. The girl is called “spoilt,” beaten, banned from church, or sacked from school. The fear of bringing shame to the family name is heavier than the fear of police. So she hides the pregnancy for 9 months, delivers alone, and abandons in secret to protect her family’s “honour.”
4. Paternal abandonment — The Man Who Ran Away: Behind almost every abandoned baby is a man who vanished. He says, “It is not mine,” or “Abort it,” and switches off his phone. The mother is left utterly isolated — no emotional, financial, or social support. She is criminalised alone, but the abandonment started with him. Psychological research shows paternal denial is one of the strongest predictors of maternal panic and newborn abandonment.
5. Substance abuse disorders: Alcohol, tramadol, and other drug addiction impair the brain’s executive functioning — the ability to plan, judge consequences, and process emotions. A mother struggling with addiction may give birth in a highly intoxicated or withdrawal state, unable to comprehend the needs of the newborn, leading to neglect and eventual abandonment.
6. The spirit child cultural phenomenon and superstition: In some remote pockets of Northern Ghana and even in few parts of Central and Ashanti regions, public health research shows babies born with congenital deformities, severe disabilities, or whose mothers die in childbirth are branded as “spirit children” or cursed. In extreme instances, families, under cultural pressure, mandate that such babies be exposed or abandoned at shrines or bushes. This is not mental illness, but a harmful cultural belief system that still kills.
The invisible wounds
On the baby: Risk of death from hypothermia, sepsis, and infection. Survivors suffer Anaclitic Depression and Failure to Thrive due to lack of touch. As adults, they battle Reactive Attachment Disorder, chronic mistrust, and identity crisis — “Why did my mother leave me in a dustbin?”
On the mother: Lifelong hidden grief, intense guilt, chronic PTSD, depression, and elevated suicide risk. A prison cell does not heal this.
On the nation: Overburdened orphanages like Osu Children’s Home, draining health budgets, and overworked Social Welfare officers.
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“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; no one seeks God. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe. For there is no difference; – Rom. 3:10, 21-22. (NIV)
Introduction
Dictionaries define righteousness as “behavior that is morally justifiable or right.” Such behavior is characterized by accepted standards of morality, justice, virtue, or uprightness. The Bible’s standard of human righteousness is God’s own perfection in every attribute, every attitude, every behavior, and every word. Thus, God’s laws, as given in the Bible, both describe His own character and constitute the plumb line by which He measures human righteousness.
The bad news is that true and perfect righteousness is not possible for man to attain on his own; the standard is simply too high. The good news is that true righteousness is possible for mankind, but only through the cleansing of sin by Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We have no ability to achieve righteousness in and of ourselves. But Christians possess the righteousness of Christ, because “ For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21. This is an amazing truth. On the cross, Jesus exchanged our sin for His perfect righteousness so that we can one day stand before God and He will see not our sin, but the holy righteousness of the Lord Jesus.
Establishing our hearts in righteousness
“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” – Proverbs 4:23
According to the above verse in Proverbs, our heart is the source of our life. Our life flows from our heart. The Holy Spirit resides in the spirit of the born again Christian. So there is a strong influence of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the new-born Christian. But our heart is also comprised of our soul. As Christians we can choose to focus our soul on the Lord, or on evil things. If we focus on corrupt, immoral, and evil things our heart will be affected detrimentally. It will cause our heart to be crooked or wicked, instead of straight or righteous. So the Scripture says to keep, or guard, our heart. It is wise to protect our heart as what we allow to dominate our heart will inevitably become the fruit, or influence the outcome, of our lives.
One way to approach life is to continually ask the question, “How will this decision or action affect my heart?” Everything we do, every thought we entertain, everything we watch, read, or listen to, shapes our heart. Therefore, the future prosperity of our life will flow from how well we care for our heart.
Think of everything you do, every moment of time, as a seed. We have been given responsibility for choosing which seeds to plant in our heart. What will you grow in the garden of your heart? What seeds will you choose? Our heart is our garden, and our life is the fruit of our garden. So next time you are tempted to dwell on a bad thought, think, “Do I want this seed to grow and manifest in my life?” Next time you are tempted to indulge in a sinful action ask yourself, “Do I want the extension, or fruit, of this sinful action to be what I am known for?”
God gives us the freedom to plant whatever we like in our garden. God loves us regardless of the good or bad choices we may make in our lives. You may be reaping the fruit of some poor choices right now. And God is still saying, “I love you.” But He has wise advice for us; He desires we have a good life. He says, “Guard you heart with all diligence.” This Hebrew word translated ‘diligence’ conveys the meanings of: prison and guard (ibid). A superintendant of a prison is very particular as to what goes in and out of his prison. A prison has very tight security. Just as a superintendant watches over his prison, so we should also supervise our heart (our lives). We should exercise meticulous security with regards to what enters into our heart. Actually, even what comes out of it, as the Scripture says, “ Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” – James 1:19, as “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” –Matthew 12:34b.
If what goes into, and what comes out of, our heart determines the success of our lives, what is the first important principle to establish in our heart? “In righteousness you shall be established;” – Isaiah 54:14
Righteousness is the key foundational truth we need to first establish in our heart. Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” –Matthew 6:33. Notice Jesus said, “His righteousness”, not our own righteousness. We have to seek and understand God’s righteousness. Isaiah 54:14 says, “Their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.” God’s righteousness comes from God, not from within us. Humans cannot make themselves God’s righteousness, as all humans have sinned and are therefore inferior to God. God’s righteousness is a gift from God: “ For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21
Righteousness, or right standing with God, has been attained for us through the exchange Jesus made on our behalf. Jesus took our sin and gave us His righteousness. God’s righteousness is imparted to us when we are made a new creature in Christ – 2 Corinthians 5:17. This righteousness is a gift from God and undeserved by us: “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”- Romans 5:17
Through our faith in Jesus’ blood, shed to remit our sins – Romans 3:25, God imparts righteousness to us by His grace. We actually become a new righteous creation, fully identifying in Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection and ascension. This is the foundational miracle we need to understand and have established in our heart. All the other miraculous promises of God come the same way, by God’s grace through faith. Righteousness must be established in our heart for us to truly have faith to receive our rich inheritance in Christ. Jesus has been made unto us righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30). We are now “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us”. – 2 Corinthians 1:20
Establishing our minds in righteousness
God expects that, when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will be radically changed. In Romans 12:2 He tells us, And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
This transformation is to be a metamorphosis, of a magnitude at least comparable to that by which a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. He expects us to become totally different.
Scripture uses many different images to express the change that should occur: We become “a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.“ – 2 Cor 5:17. It is almost as if we become a new species. Scripture speaks of the “first Adam” who was earthly and fell into sin, and the “second Adam” (Jesus Christ) who was sinless and holy – Rom. 5:12-19; 1 Cor 15:44-49.
We are “made new in the attitude of our minds” – Eph. 4:23.
We “put off our old self” and “put on the new self” – Eph. 4:22,24; Col 3:9-10.
We “live by the Spirit” and not by the flesh – Gal. 5:16; Rom 8:13.
We become “instruments of righteousness” rather than “instruments of wickedness” – Rom. 6:13.
Each of these metaphors, in a different way, emphasizes the magnitude of the change that is expected. Each is dramatic and astonishing in itself; their cumulative effect is even more powerful. We are talking about a tremendous transformation. It should be visible to others, but its internal effect should be far greater than what others can perceive.
The goal of this transformation
What is the goal of this metamorphosis? Scripture states it in a number of different ways, which overlap and can be seen as different ways of expressing the same basic concept. Scripture often does this, because our minds are inadequate to comprehend, and our language inadequate to express, the full scope of God’s revelation to us.
To be continued!
Stay blessed!
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Email: saltnlightministries@gmail.com
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