GOD’S EARTH AND GHANA’S SANITATION CHALLENGE

           Do Ghanaians believe in the philosophy that ‘we learn from our mistakes’. If Yes, what lessons have we learnt and what has changed after the June 3^rd torrential rains that deprived the nation of over eight scores of human resource.  Is it the closing down of fuel stations; is it the radio and TV talk shows on the issue, is it the country strategy on sanitation which was recently re-launched, or the demolition exercise by the Chief Mayor?. One will say ‘all the above’. Maybe all these interventions may have short or long term panacea to the sanitation challenge; but is there more we can do as a nation to change behavior of the citizenry towards the environment?

I have followed with keen interest publications in the print media as well as discussions on radio on the sanitation challenge confronting mother Ghana and it is obvious that all residents in Ghana are equally blamable for the menace confronting our society today. Indifferent attitude towards the environment; the indiscriminate disposal of refuse and pollutants like plastics, burning of rubbish, the reckless open urination and defecation and littering and others such as the huge volumes of refuse created by households as well as businesses, lack of innovative ways of handling refuse, construction of open drains, population growth, building on water ways, inadequate regulations and non-enforcement of sanitation laws, are cited among the causes of Ghana’s environmental menace.  A recent joint report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on sanitation that ranked Ghana as the seventh dirtiest country in the world is very worrying in a country where over 70% of the population are Christians.  

Lately, some church leaders have joined in the campaign and made clarion calls on Christians to ensure environmental cleanliness. One may ask, why Christians? The responsibility is on Christians because the Bible says so. Scripture teaches that we are living in a world that belongs to God, who is the creator, sustainer and provider of all things. This earth is for God and not for man to possess and to ruin. Therefore, a true biblical Christianity should have the greatest concern for the environment. It is therefore very hypocritical for Christians to willfully separate themselves from the environment, and just look on to the abuse, wanton destruction and violation of our earth space (biblically referred to as creation) God has blessed Ghanaians with.

Poet Maya Angelou once wrote about her amazement when someone says ‘ I am a Christian’. She asserts that being a Christian is a vocation- that gradually leads to Christlikeness; a calling to certain practices, discipline and habits in the sense that our calling creates a connection between our theology and lifestyle; between what we believe and the way we behave. Christians must be doers of the word and not hearers only (James 1:22). If Christians in Ghana are doers of the word then our relationship with the environment has to portray a life of godly dignity. The spirituality that draws Christians to the saving relationship with Christ involves social actions that require Christians to give practical meaning to the love and care for God’s creation.

A country with three-quarter percent of its population as Christian worshippers should boast of a clean, idyllic environment.  However, environmental issues do not feature in the theology of the church at all. Predominantly, the themes of today’s sermons centre on meeting ‘real life situations’, as they are described.  These are sermons on prosperity, abundant wealth, greatness in life; seemingly attracting a large following who do not attach any importance to the environment in which they live. At an ordination service that was held recently at Koforidua, the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, Most Rev. Professor Emmanuel Asante in his sermon, lamented that ‘most of the pastors did not read the news trending around to guide them to prepare their sermons that would change the lives of the people and that they are not interested in updating themselves with current issues bothering the society’. The focus is to make people rich, travel abroad, win lottery without touching on the social issues. The creation events that form the basis of human existence, our primal history, have become completely extinct when we take into account modern sermons for adults; be it on radio, the pulpit, or any other platform.  Rather, these events have become fables for teachings in the Sunday schools. At that level, the scriptures is not given any deeper theological interpretation or reflections that will transform lives and impact positively on our society.

Notably, the Bible has provided the profound basis for Christians to be alerted of their responsibility to the environment. From the creation account, God made man unique. Man is created in the image and likeness of God. God then entrusted the earth to human management (Gen 1:28, 2:15) and has not revoked that trust deed, since creation. However, the concept of ‘’dominion’’ in Gen 1:28 which obligates man to rule over all living things and also the divine mandate for man to ‘till and to keep’ in Gen 2:15, have been misinterpreted or not given a deeper theological reflection. The basis for safeguarding the integrity of creation and sustaining and renewing the life of the earth is drawn from these accounts. 

Giving it a deeper reflection, to have ‘’dominion ‘’ or to rule or to ‘take control’ does not mean exploitation. To have ‘’dominion’’ is a divine responsibility God gave to man. Man assumed a heritage of God’s property to share the space with non-humans (the trees, the birds, animals) and care for God’s creation. More importantly, it is an act of stewardship, service and not kingship. The environment is not a possession of humanity; it is entrusted to him for safe keeping and tending; cultivating it for human survival whilst ensuring it preservation. Therefore man is accountable to God for how well the earth is kept. On the six day of creation, God saw all that He had made and ‘it was very good’. So what right has man to desecrate what God once described as ‘very good’.  There is a common adage that ‘cleanliness is next to Godliness’.  What is the Ghanaian’s understanding of Godliness and how can one proof to be godly in the midst of filth and insanitary living conditions?

Christian discipleship is a holistic ministry. It is not only about winning souls, teaching, baptizing, nurturing; but also includes our relationship and care for the environment and other fellow creatures whose welfare God has entrusted in man’s care and who ought to join man in praising the Creator as indicated in the Psalms and the Book of Job.  The heavens the earth the cattle, the cedars, the kings of the earth, all nations, all men, women and maidens and the old are all expected to praise the Lord. If man deprives the other living beings from existing then man will be depriving God of his praise. 

The Christian conversion process is therefore, a spiritual exercise that involves a holistic change in, culture, habits, behavior, attitude and also change in relationships. This includes the relationship between God and man; man and man; and between man and other living creatures. In other words, after conversion, the lifestyle of the believer should depict Christian values. Therefore a believer with the habit of indiscriminate littering of the environment should be seen preserving the environment or taking care of it. The sense of guilt a Christian feels after engaging in sinful acts (immoral acts, stealing, drinking) should be the same when he throws rubbish around indiscriminately. If Christians become conscious of their responsibility to the environment and that dumping rubbish around is an act of sin against the Almighty God, the Owner of the earth then it is possible that the process of behavioural change will be seen as gradually evolving. This is very crucial because it is only when believers become conscious of their environmental ethics; deeply rooted in the scripture will the process of healing our environment and addressing some of the sanitation challenges confronting our country commence; and this has to start from the pulpit.  

The two great commandments (Matt22: 34-39) provide us with ethical motivation to care for the earth God loves. To love God implies caring for the things he cares for and being committed to the same purpose as he is. It is important for Christians to understand that God cares for both non-human creations as well man and therefore any act of man to displace the non-human creation of their existence is a sinful act against the Creator. In Exekiel 34:18, the prophet asked: is it not enough for you to feed on the green pasture? Must you also trample them with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink pure water? Must you also muddy it with your feet? The pastures and the waters and all that God created he has put in man’s care to use and enjoy but not to exploit or destroy. It is the social obligation of all Christians to partake in the holistic Christian ministry.

I remember so well that during my childhood, about forty years ago, right here in Ghana, we used to catch golden fishes and play with tadpoles in the open drains which were neat and had fresh water running through especially during the raining season. We also chased crickets, praying mantis, lady birds and fire flies in the open field. Birds easily made their nest in homes and live peacefully with man. These were real life experiences with nature, where other creatures also enjoyed their living space without any disturbance.  All these exotic experiences are no longer in existence because of the extent of pollution and environmental degradation we are living with today.  

Christians therefore, have no excuse! The environment ought to be redeemed. And it must be now. It is not too late for the church to revisit its environmental theology since the care of the environment is a mainstream obligation on all believers as instructed by God in Genesis 2:15. Christians are to be educated based on the Word of God.  The Word that transforms man is the same tool for the transformation of our society.  The starting point of Behavioural Change Communication (BCC) for our environmental issues must be from the pulpit with the help of the Holy Spirit. If Christians believe that with God all things are possible, then to change the mindset of the Ghanaian has to be based on the same word that the Christian believes will turn his life around.  It is important for Christians today to know that in this present times man can exercise dominion over the environment without being destructive. The members who come to church every Sunday to Worship the God of beauty who cares about his handiwork and seeks to preserve it must also know their rights and obligation towards the things God has created. The theological basis ought to serve as a motivation for Christians in the care for the environment.

God reminds us in Leviticus 25:23-24 that “The land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. Throughout the country that you hold as a possession you must provide for the redemption of the land” and also in Duet. 11: 12a, God indicates that the land drinks rain from heaven “ and the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end”.  Absolutely, God cares for his creation. Hosea 4:3, indicates that because of the action of man no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land, ‘the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away; the beast of the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying’. The actions of Christians must lead to the preservation of creation faithfulness and goodness.

It is very obvious now that issues relating to climate change, natural resource extraction, biodiversity destruction, gender, conflicts, social and environmental justice have caught up with us and become too important to be ignored. The high temperatures and phenomenal weather vagaries that we are experiencing in Ghana have turned what was previously regarded as abstract global issues into real life experiences and therefore we cannot continue detaching ourselves from such global concerns.  Christians in Ghana should also not forget that the second coming of our Lord, which we look forward to in expectation is not to any other planet but to the same earth we are gradually damaging, we shall be held accountable for the ways in which we have exercised our responsibility over the gift we inherited from God.

For Christians to be doers of the Word and not hearers only, the campaign for the restoration of our environment should begin in earnest. Christians should partner with other agencies in environmental stewardship as evangelists proclaiming that the earth is the Lord’s and asserting that soul winning is about the total transformation of the entire human life leading to a total quality of life.

The National Sanitation Day should be part of the Churches Calendar. Members are to be reminded and encouraged to fully participate in the National Sanitation day activities. Christians are to understand their responsibility towards their surroundings as the earth space God has blessed them with and pay attention to its needs by weeding, planting trees, clearing drains and reducing rubbish burning in neighborhoods. Residents in an area are also to be encouraged to work together to keep their entire community clean. Since collectively, a lot more can be done.

The Church needs to rise above the dictates of men and women in order to fulfill its prophetic mission of full spiritual and environmental salvation. The Church has no option than to state a strong position against the destruction of the environment, hearken to the call to protect God’s creation and start from the pulpit to bring the Word on the environment deeply into the heart of its members.
For the Bible as well as the constitution of Ghana asserts that it is the duty of every citizen to “protect and safeguard the environment’.  

God is the only healer and He alone can heal our land.

Elizabeth Korasare

Executive Director

Real Opportunities Network

Student , ACI,  email: relinnet@gmail.com