We Are Stewards

Have you ever heard someone say, “That’s not my job” or “I don’t get paid to do that”? Most of the time when we hear these statements an opportunity is presenting itself for the person to do more or go above and beyond what is expected. Unfortunately, these statements have appealed to the masses and for several years now a lot of people in the world have adopted this mindset—specifically in reference to nature and the great outdoors. It is evident in the pollution we see at our lakes, boat ramps, rivers, oxbows and campsites etc. We see plastic bags, plastic bottles, unspooled line, forgotten trot lines with fish on them. Almost every form of trash is now found at our local bodies of water, and we must clean it up. A lackadaisical attitude is not acceptable, and it just won’t do. God has called us to be good stewards or managers. It is all our responsibility to make sure we are taking care of what I believe God has given to us. When it comes down to being paid for being stewards of our God given natural resources, Mother Nature does pay us. She rewards us with opportunities such as fishing, hunting, swimming and boating etc. Think about it. We have more opportunities than a lot of other nations and countries to go swimming in our lakes and eat the fish we catch. In other places, their water is so polluted to the point you can’t /shouldn’t swim in it or eat the fish that comes from it. In summary, we have a huge task to undertake and the thought of it is a bit overwhelming. Nonetheless, there is a saying, “How do you eat a hippo?” The answer is one bite at a time. There are simple and practical steps that we as Stewards can do to keep our local bodies of water clean and healthy. I’ll explain a couple of those steps in my next article.