Responsibility extends beyond our homes to our environment and communities.

Allah says: “It is He who has made you successors upon the earth.” (Qur’an 6:165)

As khalīfah (stewards), we are entrusted to protect and preserve the earth. Unfortunately, activities like illegal mining (galamsey), poor sanitation, and deforestation have become threats to our land and water bodies.

Dr Julian Agyeman and Bob Evans (2004) in Just Sustainability argue that environmental justice is deeply tied to social equity we cannot claim moral uprightness while destroying the environment that sustains others.

Every responsible man must see the environment as an amānah (trust). Picking up litter, planting trees, conserving water, and speaking against galamsey are all acts of faith. As the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

“If a Muslim plants a tree or sows seeds, and then a bird, or a person, or an animal eats from it, it is regarded as a charitable gift.” (Bukhari, Hadith 2320)

True responsibility therefore includes ecological consciousness for to destroy the environmentis to destroy the future we claim to build.

5.1 Environmental stewardship under the 1992 Constitution of Ghana

The 1992 Constitution of Ghana establishes environmental stewardship not merely as a governmental obligation but as a moral and civic duty of all citizens. It integrates environmental protection into the nation’s vision for sustainable development, justice, and intergenerational equity. Three key articles Article 36 (9), Article 41(k), and Article 269 outline this framework of responsibility.

1. Article 36 (9): Directive principles of state policy

“The State shall take appropriate measures needed to protect and safeguard the national environment for posterity; and shall seek cooperation with other states and bodies for the purpose of protecting the wider international environment for mankind.”

This article establishes that environmental protection is both a national and global responsibility.

It commits Ghana to sustainable use of natural resources including land, forests, water, and minerals for the benefit of future generations.

In essence, it means that every Ghanaian must act with intergenerational consciousness, ensuring that today’s development does not destroy tomorrow’s heritage. This principle directly condemns harmful practices such as illegal mining (galamsey), deforestation, and pollution.

By Imam Alhaji Saeed Abdulai

Wonderful counsellor

This coming king – Jesus, is exceptional because He is the Son of God and Son of man.  He gives the right advice because He is intimately acquainted with the counsels of God from eternity.  In fact John, one of His apostles describes Him as ‘one who was with God in the beginning’ – John 1:1-2. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God He was with God in the beginning.”(NIV) This Wonderful Counselloris the wisdom of God our Father who has made Him our wisdom.  We can rely on Him for wisdom to handle our everyday situations and solve seemingly intractable problems.  He is our wisdom because He enables us to move beyond our selfishness, greed, unholiness and self-will and submit to God’s direction without feeling that our peers would consider us foolish.

Mighty God

The coming King is a Divine Warrior because He has supernatural skill and strength in battle.  Because He is God Himself, Jesus is able to fight and overcome every scheme of the devil concerning the lives of His redeemed.  But even more, His divine skills in battle are transferred to us through the armour He has provided us which include the belt of truth; the breastplate of righteousness the gospel of peace; the shield of faith; the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit as we read in Ephesians 6:13-17. “Therefore, put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”. – (NIV)  Through God’s might we are able to overcome one of our greatest enemies – the SELF; the I in us which insists on having its own way even if that way is against God and humanity.  The might of God, given us through the coming King, Jesus Christ, gives us power to resist the world’s seductive attractions.

Everlasting Father

This coming King is timeless; He is God our Father or better put Father for ever, meaning that the King will look after His people as a father looks after His children.  Jesus’ own promise to the disciples (and to us) is that no one can snatch us from His hands because we have been given to Him by His Father, God: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.    I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.  I am the Father are one”- John 10:27-30 (NIV).

Prince of peace

As a King, He preserves commands and creates peace in His Kingdom.  He Himself is Peace and, therefore, brings prosperity and well-being to His people.  He does this by governing with justice, righteousness and equity.  In Isaiah 11:1-9 gives further detail about what constitutes the rule of the Prince of Peace as follows:

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from the roots a Branch will bear fruit.  The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord – and He will delight in the fear of the Lord.  He will not judge by what He sees with his eyes or decide by what He hears with His ears, but with righteousness He will judge the needy, with justice He will give decisions for poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.  Righteousness will be His belt and faithfulness the sash around His waist.  The wolf will be with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together and a little child will lead them.  The cow will feed with the bear, and their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.  The infant will play near the hole of the cobra and the young child put his hand into the vipers nest.  They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” – (NIV)

Getting ready for the King

During this period until soon after Christmas, we should all be meditating on the message of Christmas.  It is the message of God coming down to our level so that we will be raised to His level.  It is a message of salvation from sin, the breaking of the bonds of slavery to Satan.  It is a message of God lovingly binding broken hearts and healing diseases.  But most of all, it is a message of restoration – God restoring us to the original relationship He created us to have with Him. 

By Rev. Dr Joyce Aryee

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