The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Psalm 24.

It is not enough, in considering the use we will make of the earth and its resources, to calculate the most efficient ways of maximizing convenience or wealth. We violate the Lord’s purposes for His creation, when we fail to treat creation according to the overarching designs of God. His Law reminds us that fruit trees are not for weapons for war; they are for sustenance. Similarly, streams are not for discharging waste; they are for beauty and provision. The creatures of the forest are not for decorating our walls, but for bodily provision in a chain of being supervised by the Spirit of God Himself (cf. Ps. 104.14-30).

Whenever human beings are planning a project that will involve significant interaction with the creation, more questions must be asked than simply, “What can we do to make the most money for the longest period of time?”

In recent years laws and codes guiding the development of lands for residential or commercial purposes have begun to reflect something of this awareness of the larger purposes of the creation. It is not cost-efficient for developers to have to take precautions against erosion, to landscape in certain kinds of ways, to conserve wetlands, or to set aside portions of a development as animal habitat or simply for natural beauty. However, the long-term wellbeing of the property requires that we develop it not merely for human interests but according to the creational interests of the land itself, and the pleasure of God Who owns it all (Ps. 24.1).

Such practices reflect a concern for justice more than for the bottom line and thus demonstrate both the reality of the works of God’s Law being written on the hearts of all men and the viability of the Law of God as a guide to public policy.

T. M. Moore

Visit our website, www.ailbe.org, and sign up to receive our thrice-weekly devotional, Crosfigell, featuring writers from the period of the Celtic Revival and T. M.’s reflections on Scripture and the Celtic Christian tradition. Does the Law of God still apply today? Order a copy of T. M.’s book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, and the compilation, The Law of God,and study the question for yourself.