“If you come across a bird’s nest in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs and the mother sitting on the young or the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young. You shall let the mother go, but the young you may take for yourself, that it may go well with you, and that you may live long.” Deuteronomy 22.6, 7

What we have said about the natural creation can also be said of the creations of culture which bring the blessings of God to men and the praise of men to God. We must take care of our property and possessions, steward our business and work responsibilities, and take an active interest in the “upkeep” of our communities.

Further, the Christian heritage abounds with artifacts, institutions, and conventions of culture which it is our duty as God’s covenant people to understand, appreciate, and enjoy, as well as to conserve. Would we enjoy the wondrous work of Johann Sebastian Bach as lavishly as many of us do today were it not for the efforts of Felix Mendelssohn to make his works more widely known in his day? Would Christian children today have the benefits of home schooling and Christian classical schools without parents and educators who have worked hard to bring forward these benefits from our rich cultural heritage to our own generation?

Would we even have churches and liturgies and glorious music to sing were it not that these items have been faithfully conserved and transferred to us by our forebears?

An economy based on consumption is not as likely to be thoughtful about the future as one based on justice – defined as the loving character of God. The divine economy seeks to conserve the benefits of creation and culture for all generations and points the way for us, as stewards of God’s trust, to take steps to accomplish that result.

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 study the question for yourself.