His Greatest creation

My family’s, and incidentally my new home in CA is a town called Alta Sierra in Nevada County, a place notable for prominent environmentalism and generally liberal-minded people. There are no shortage of individuals who promote legalizing Marijuana, refuse to purchase groceries in plastic or paper bags and who are apt to hold a protest now and then. Many of these voice their often radical and unconventional views on government, the environment and social structure with bumper stickers. The most ubiquitous I’ve seen is tolerance-geared COEXIST in which each letter is a representation of a respective religious group.

In our family, viewing a coexist or a like-minded bumper sticker initiates a sort-of political and religious apologetic discussion about the contradictions and ridiculousness of such notions. About a week ago, after shopping with my mom two related bumper-stickers on a particular car really fired me up and got the wheels in my head turning. The statements were as follows: “Make Love…Not more!” and “Stop Overpopulation”. Upon my viewing I began my own series of arguments and rebuttals against those statements. I was able to ultimately break-down the source and overarching thought of what was written but first, a few thoughts.

First-off one of the primary reasons and logical intentions of Sex was for procreation. For this misguided environmentalist bent on everything being “natural”, I can’t think of anything more unnatural than the many methods of birth-control necessary to stop a clearly natural occurrence. Even an atheist understands this as being important for existence. Look at the state of Europe now with birth-rates so low that there are not enough children born to replace those who naturally die. In countries such as France, the government is giving handsome incentives for larger families. Secondly, the World is not in danger of overpopulation. How much open space do you see when you travel…a lot. I believe in what God said to Adam to increase in number and to subdue the Earth. And if the population grew unabated, I believe the Lord would do what was necessary for his creation to live.

I believe in what God commanded Adam, the first human to do … ”to fill the Earth and to subdue it.” Does that mean excessive waste, materialism, and environmental negligence?....Of course not. I believe we should care for the Earth, things such as alternative energy and recycling are great, and necessary. I think it’s terrible what happened in the Gulf with oil spill. Adam’s sole job, given by God was to tend to the Earth God had made.

I believe these points to be valid and good arguments but what I saw at the root of all this was that the statement claimed children are not a blessing, not welcome and do more harm than good. I believe if that’s your perspective, you don’t understand God’s will in his purpose for the creation of the Family. Moreover, it is quite frankly a very selfish way to live. By reading the other bumper stickers and understanding an environmentalist’s thought, they see humans as the enemies and destroyers. They exalt creation and falsely ascribe to it as possessing the same inherent value as Man. They are practicing a contemporary form of pantheism and ultimately by exalting the creation over the creator they are idolaters in every sense of the meaning.

And what they miss more than anything else is that crowning creation and pinnacle of his work was mankind. He created them with a soul and to do what no other form in creation did or could ever do: to Love and to be in communion with God. We are “worth more than many sparrows” as Jesus said in the beatitudes. The Greatest commandment was first: to Love God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength and the second was like it; to love your neighbor as yourself. You are worth more than any tree in the forest or bird in the air or fish in the sea.

I hope you take time to reflect and conceive the magnitude and beauty of God’s greatest creation: You and I.