Paradise or Garbage Dump​—Which Do You Prefer?

NO ONE would have mistaken him for anything other than what he was: a European tourist in need of rest and eager to enjoy the sunshine on an island paradise. Crossing the spacious sand dunes bordering the seashore, he carefully picked his way through a litter of discarded bottles, cans, plastic bags, chewing-gum and candy wrappers, newspapers, and magazines. Clearly irritated, he wondered if this was the paradise he had traveled to reach.

Have you ever had a similar experience? Why do people dream about vacationing in some paradise, but once they are there, seemingly have no scruples about turning it into a veritable garbage dump?

Not Just in “Paradise”

This obvious disregard for beauty, neatness, and cleanliness is not unique to the “paradises” to which many tourists flock. Modern society is severely blighted by pollution almost everywhere. Numerous businesses pollute on a grand scale by creating tons of waste products. Mishandled toxic wastes and accidental oil spills threaten to ruin large areas of our earth, making them unfit for life.

Wars also pollute. As the world looked on in horror, the 1991 Persian Gulf war added a new dimension. Iraqi forces deliberately set fire to some 600 oil wells, transforming Kuwait “into an apocalyptic vision of hell,” as a European newspaper described it. The German magazine Geo termed the inferno “the greatest environmental catastrophe ever inflicted by human hand.”

At war’s end, a clean-up mission was immediately begun. Just extinguishing the burning oil wells entailed many months of hard work. The World Health Organization reported that the increased pollution in Kuwait might cause the death rate there to grow by 10 percent.

Less Dangerous but Very Irritating

For every prominent and flagrant example of large-scale environmental pollution, there are thousands of small-scale examples. Litterbugs and graffiti “artists” may be less dangerous polluters, but they nevertheless help rob planet Earth of its potential to be a paradise.

In some places graffiti are so commonplace that citizens have become “graffiti blind,” hardly noticing them anymore. They are on subway cars, on the walls of buildings, and on telephone booths. No longer are graffiti confined to the walls of public toilets.

Some cities are full of dilapidated and deserted buildings. Residential areas are blemished by untidy homes and yards. Wrecked cars, discarded machinery, and junky debris clutter up farmyards that could otherwise be pleasingly attractive.

In certain circles people seem unconcerned about having unclean and untidy bodies. Flaunting a disheveled look in dress and grooming may be not only acceptable but even fashionable. Those who appreciate neatness and cleanliness are viewed as hopelessly old-fashioned.

What a Tremendous Job!

What a tremendous clean-up campaign would be necessary to transform the beaches, forests, and mountains of our earthly home into the paradises pictured on the covers of glossy tourist magazines​—not to mention what would have to be done to cities, towns, and farms and to people themselves!

The aforementioned tourist was pleased to see a clean-up crew going through the area later in the day removing the larger pieces of debris. They left behind, however, pieces of broken glass, bottle caps, tin-can tabs, and too many cigarette butts to count. So even after a cleanup, there was still abundant evidence that the landscape was more closely related to a garbage dump than to a paradise.

A global cleanup to save planet Earth from becoming a global garbage dump would require getting rid of all such vestiges of these blights. Are there any prospects that such a cleanup will take place? If so, how? Who will carry it out? When?

Rooting Out Pollution From Heart and Mind

JEHOVAH did not give humans a yearning for filth or disorder. Their planet home was designed to be a paradise of cleanliness, order, and beauty. God did not purpose that it degenerate into an unsightly garbage dump.​—Genesis 2:8, 9.

However, after humans rejected divine guidance, they began building their own kind of world order. Without the benefit of divine wisdom and lacking experience, they were forced to learn by trial and error. Secular history confirms the Bible truth that humans cannot successfully rule themselves; for thousands of years “man has dominated man to his injury.” (Ecclesiastes 8:9; Jeremiah 10:23) The modern problem of pollution, in all its forms, is a consequence of human misrule.

Adopting God’s View

People desirous of pleasing God try hard to live up to the Creator’s standards of cleanliness. Thus, Jehovah’s Witnesses were faced with a problem when an international convention was scheduled to be held in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in mid-1991.a About 75,000 people would be attending, a crowd that Strahov Stadium could comfortably accommodate. But the stadium had not been used for five years. It had fallen into disrepair, an unsightly victim of the elements. Some 1,500 of Jehovah’s Witnesses spent over 65,000 hours renovating and repainting it. By convention time this clean-up campaign had made the stadium a worthy place in which to worship the true God, Jehovah.

What motivates Jehovah’s Witnesses to be different, while the world in general shows such little appreciation for cleanliness and order? Appreciation for the Bible’s counsel that Christians should root out negative traits, such as selfishness, inconsiderateness, greed, and lack of love. “Strip off the old personality with its practices,” the Bible says. Replace it “with the new personality, which through accurate knowledge is being made new according to the image of the One who created it.” A personality characterized by love for cleanliness, order, and beauty has no room for polluting tendencies.​—Colossians 3:9, 10; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Philippians 4:8; Titus 2:14.

The new personality requires that Christians be pollution conscious, not wantonly polluting or disobediently ignoring antipollution laws that governments enact. It helps them to avoid adopting the throw-away, selfish, and lazy attitude that leads to littering. By promoting respect for the property of others, it rules out using graffiti as a way of expression, as innocent fun, or as an alternative art form. It requires that homes, cars, clothes, and bodies be kept clean.​—Compare James 1:21.

As to people unwilling to put on this new personality, can fault be found with God for barring them from life in his coming Paradise? Hardly. Anyone who still had polluting tendencies tucked away in his heart or mind would threaten the restored paradisaic beauty of planet Earth, much to the sorrow of those who desire to maintain it. God’s decision “to bring to ruin those ruining the earth” is both righteous and loving.​—Revelation 11:18; 21:8.

Active Participation?

Does this mean, however, that Christians are required to promote antipollution or clean-up measures?

Pollution is clearly detrimental to health and public safety. Jehovah has appropriate concern about such matters, as we can see from the laws that he gave the Israelites. (Exodus 21:28-34; Deuteronomy 22:8; 23:12-14) But at no time did he direct them to proselytize other peoples on matters of public safety; nor were first-century Christians ever told to do so.

Today, environmental matters can easily become political issues. In fact, some political parties have been formed specifically for the purpose of solving environmental problems. A Christian who lets himself be polarized along political lines is no longer politically neutral. Jesus laid down for his disciples the principle: “They are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world.” A Christian who disregards that requirement runs the danger of becoming aligned with “the rulers of this system of things, who are to come to nothing.”​—John 17:16; 1 Corinthians 2:6.

Jesus did not try to solve all the social problems of his day; nor did he tell his disciples to do so. His command to them was: “Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them . . . , teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you.” He did not command them about environmental policies.​—Matthew 28:19, 20.

Explaining what should have priority in a Christian’s life, Christ said: “Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness.” (Matthew 6:33) When Jehovah, by means of the Messianic Kingdom, enforces his righteous principles on a global scale, environmental problems will be solved permanently and to the satisfaction of all.

Thus, Jehovah’s Witnesses take a balanced position. In view of Romans 13:1-7, it is mandatory that they conscientiously obey governmental laws regulating the environment. In addition, godly love of neighbor moves them to show respect for the property of others​—public or private—​by not disfiguring it and by not discarding waste indiscriminately. But they are clearly not directed to take the lead in worldly clean-up measures. They rightfully put preaching the message of God’s Kingdom first, realizing that this is the way to do the most lasting good.

A Spiritual Cleanup

The ancient Israelites were repeatedly warned of the consequences if they polluted the earth by shedding blood, by adopting an immoral life-style, or by showing disrespect for sacred things. (Numbers 35:33; Jeremiah 3:1, 2; Malachi 1:7, 8) Significantly, they were condemned for this spiritual pollution, not for any physical pollution of which they may also have been guilty.b

It is, therefore, spiritual pollution or uncleanness that a Christian today primarily strives to avoid. This he does by putting on “the new personality,” which roots out polluting tendencies from heart and mind. Over four million of Jehovah’s Witnesses are benefiting from this spiritual cleanup, achieving within their ranks religious and moral cleanness, as well as notable physical cleanness.​—Ephesians 4:22-24.

Today is the time for a spiritual clean-up campaign. A physical clean-up campaign earth wide will follow in due time and will save our home from becoming a global garbage dump by giving it the pollution-free environment it deserves.​—Ecclesiastes 3:1.

[Footnotes]

Rejoice in the Clean Earth Ahead!

HOW happy we can be that Jehovah, a God of order and cleanliness, will fulfill his original purpose to make the earth into a global paradise! (Isaiah 11:6-9) He promises: “My word that goes forth from my mouth . . . will not return to me without results, but it will certainly do that in which I have delighted.” “It is impossible for God to lie,” so these are not empty words.​—Isaiah 55:11; Hebrews 6:18.

We can be relieved that Jehovah will lovingly intercede before humans have gone to the point of no return, beyond which point total ecological breakdown would be unavoidable!​—Revelation 11:18.

Jehovah will remove unrepentant, wanton polluters and persons rebelliously ignoring his principles of order and cleanliness. No one will be permitted to jeopardize the restored Paradise.​—Proverbs 2:20-22.

During God’s Kingdom rule, under the direction of Christ Jesus, humans will be taught how to root out any remaining causes of physical pollution. Then​—not now—​is when it will be imperative that all of God’s servants get actively involved in personal and collective measures that will contribute to an unprecedented global cleanup.​—Compare Ezekiel 39:8-16.

Survivors of the end of the present wicked system of things will support this physical clean-up program with the same dedication and enthusiasm with which they participate in the spiritual clean-up campaign of today.​—Psalm 110:3.

A cleansed earth is bound to come, spearheaded by the greatest clean-up campaign of all times, accomplished by God’s Kingdom. All traces of pollution will be removed. Nowhere any graffiti. No more discarded bottles, cans, plastic bags, chewing-gum and candy wrappers, newspapers, and magazines to clutter any beach or paradisaic spot.

Rejoice in the clean earth ahead!

[Picture on page 7]

Will you be participating in the coming global cleanup?