The destructive side of people

For some years now, my daughter, Steph, and I have gone out early two or three mornings a week to jog round our local green space. In fact, for some years we tried entering for the London Marathon, but (perhaps fortunately) we were never accepted. Often it's a bit of a struggle to summon up the desire to go out, especially on freezing cold, wet mornings. And Steph is usually even more reluctant than I am! However, the mere fact that we have made the commitment to each other, and we know that by not going we would let the other one down, is a good motivator. And it's certainly much easier to jog when you have a companion running alongside you!

When Steph left home two or three years ago, it made things a little more complicated, but as she only lives about a mile away, we arranged that we would meet up about half way and then jog together before heading home again. The whole circuit usually takes about half an hour (not long, I know).

Steph's route takes her through a nearby park, which is nicely laid out with colourful flower beds etc. The other morning I set off a little early, so got to the park before Steph. I was deeply saddened to see that someone had decided to rip out some of the bedding plants and scatter them around. It was utterly pointless vandalism: destruction for the sake of destruction (see the image above).

God has given us a beautiful world. Nature is truly amazing. The Bible tells us that God put human beings in charge of the world, to care for and be good stewards of God's creation. Men and women have such a potential for good. Yet, sadly, we also see much evidence today of the destructive side of human nature. How much better if we lived in God's way - to build up instead of pull down, to love instead of hate, to give instead of always taking. Each of must make our own choice - no one else can make it for us!