When America’s Founding Fathers set forth the principles of our
nation, they carefully chose words that would echo across generations. Thomas
Jefferson’s immortal phrase that we are “endowed by our Creator with certain
unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of
Happiness.” still stirs the soul. These rights were not imagined as fleeting
privileges, but enduring truths meant to be secured not only for the present
but also, as the Constitution’s preamble declares, “to ourselves and our
posterity.”
The very word “posterity” reminds us that our decisions
ripple beyond our lifetime. What we do with the blessings of this land shapes
the quality of life our children and grandchildren will inherit. Therefore, natural
resource conservation is not a secondary concern but central to preserving the
rights Jefferson identified. Without clean water, fertile soil, and breathable
air, “life” is diminished. Without open access to healthy lands, “liberty” is
constrained. Finally, without sustainable abundance through natural resources,
the “pursuit of happiness” is hindered.
Though the Founding Fathers did not use the word
“conservation,” they understood the critical role of land and resources in
sustaining our nation. George Washington, a farmer and surveyor, once wrote, “A
people who are possessed of the spirit of commerce, who are engaged in the
cultivation of the soil, and who are dependent on their own resources, must be
great and happy.” The early republic was deeply agricultural, and the vitality
of its soil, forests, and rivers was inseparable from the vitality of the
nation.
Benjamin Franklin warned of the shortsightedness of overuse,
noting in his Poor Richard’s Almanac that “he that plows too much, harrows in
vain.” This phrase underscored that exploitation ultimately leads to loss,
while moderation secures lasting benefit. Jefferson, in his Notes on the State
of Virginia, exalted the farmer as the backbone of the republic, not because of
mere productivity, but because of the virtuous relationship between steward and
land.
The Founders spoke often of liberty, but liberty has always
had responsibility as its companion. The land was a trust, given to each
generation, not to consume recklessly but to sustain wisely.
Long before America’s founding, Scripture defined humanity’s
responsibility to conserve creation. In Genesis 1:28, God blessed mankind and
commanded them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the
earth and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the
air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
The word subdue has often been misinterpreted as license to
dominate without restraint. But biblical theology makes clear that the earth is
the Lord’s (Psalm 24:1), not ours. We are tenants, not ultimate owners. Adam’s
original calling was not to strip the garden but to “work it and keep it”
(Genesis 2:15). This Hebrew pairing implies both use and protection: to
cultivate for productivity and to preserve for continuity.
This balance is critical. The Creator endowed the earth with
resources intended for human flourishing. We have timber for homes, soil for
crops, waters for refreshment, minerals for progress. But these gifts were
never meant to be squandered. They are held in trust. To abuse them is not
merely to sin against the land, but to sin against the Creator and to rob
future generations of their rightful inheritance.
In fact, there is a paradox in human ownership. Every title
deed, every plot of land, every mineral lease is a temporary reality. As the
Psalmist wrote, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof, the world
and those who dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1). What we “own” is, in truth, only
borrowed. One day it will pass to another.
To own something that will always eventually belong to
someone else is to embrace the idea of stewardship over possession. That
mindset changes everything. If we are stewards, then we must ask, what
condition will we leave our fields, our forests, our rivers, and our air in?
Will our children inherit depleted soil and polluted streams, or will they
inherit abundance, resilience, and beauty? Will they inherit life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness God intended these resources to be stewarded toward?
Edmund Burke, often called the father of modern conservatism
said, “Society is a partnership… not only between those who are living, but
between those who are dead, and those who are to be born.” True ownership is
generational responsibility.
Conservation is not merely an environmental issue. It is a
civic and moral duty! The unalienable rights enshrined in America’s founding
documents cannot be secured apart from the stewardship of the land that
sustains them. A degraded environment erodes liberty just as surely as
political tyranny by limiting the opportunities and health of those who come
after us.
This understanding fueled the great conservation movements
of later generations. President Theodore Roosevelt, inspired by both patriotism
and stewardship, declared, “Of all the questions which can come before this
nation, short of the actual preservation of its existence in a great war, there
is none which compares in importance with the great central task of leaving
this land even a better land for our descendants than it is for us.” Roosevelt’s
vision of national parks, forests, and wildlife refuges was rooted in the enduring
principle of stewardship for posterity.
In our time, there are great challenges. We face deforestation,
climate pressures, soil depletion, water scarcity, invasive species, and
biodiversity loss. Yet the principle remains unchanged. Conservation is not
about halting progress or freezing nature untouched. It is about wise use. It
is about subduing the earth by understanding its ecosystems, working with The
Creator’s rhythms, and ensuring resilience.
Christians especially must recover the biblical call to
stewardship. To conserve is not a political act. It is an act of obedience. To
waste, pollute, or exploit without care is to betray the very first task God
gave humanity. To conserve, cultivate, and renew is to honor the Creator and
love our neighbors, present and future.
The Founding Fathers called on us to secure liberty and
happiness for our posterity. Scripture calls us to steward creation as tenants
of the Lord. Both voices together remind us that to squander resources is to
rob our children. Conversely, to steward them is to extend life, liberty, and
happiness across generations.
The test of our generation will be whether we embrace the
paradox of ownership—that what we hold is not ultimately ours. The land, the
waters, the forests, and the air will one day belong to another. We can either
pass them along diminished or enriched.
As Psalm 145:4 declares, “One generation shall commend your
works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.” May our stewardship be
one of those mighty acts. May we be remembered not as consumers, but as
caretakers. May we be remembered as those who secured the blessings of life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness by preserving the very foundations on
which they rest. May we be remembered as faithfully executing the creation
mandate “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and rule
over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, and over every living thing
that moves on the earth.”
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