I pay alot of attention to words. I listen to the sound of words. The nuances of their different connotations and associations are meaningful to me.

It’s in that context that I want to share why I’ve become more and more discontented with the two-word term “Creation care” in Christian circles.

In that phrase, I do hear gentleness, compassion, and almost a nursing-like quality. Without question, the attentive care of a nurse for her/his patient is a blessing beyond measure. Gentleness and compassion are indeed essential characteristics of a Christ follower. If more people lived by the fruit of the Spirit towards others and Creation, we would be in a much better place.

But here is what I also hear. I hear an action carried out in a refined, hushed, restrained, genteel atmosphere. My sense from the term is that the recipient of our caring actions is passive, small, and weak.  It is not clear from the term that the person doing the Creation care activity is fundamentally about doing the right things towards Creation as a core part of that person’s core identity. “Creation care” describes a set of actions we do outside of ourselves. The actions are not necessarily central to who we are every moment. They are a choice we can make or not make depending on the circumstances.

Moreover, the word “care” does not contain in it a sense of strong, vigorous, energetic, and even assertive energy to prevent the need for care from ever happening. It does not suggest a willingness to advocate and struggle against harsh forces.

There’s another’s problem with using “Creation care.” The term lacks clear and obvious roots in the Bible.

The term has more in common with modern social programs like MediCare than what we read of in the Old and New Testaments. Where does one read of Creation care in the Bible as an actual term or concept?

The obvious alternative in my mind is “shepherd.”

Shepherds and shepherding are deeply rooted in the whole Bible. Abraham and many of his descendants lived off of flocks and herds. King David was a shepherd. Psalm 23 extols the loving attention of God as a shepherd in a beautiful and moving way. Ezekiel 34 is dense with sheep metaphors and what a good shepherd is like (although the reference to removing wild predators is troubling). Shepherds were directed by angels to where Jesus was born. And, most importantly, Jesus called himself a good shepherd.

Jesus nested the parable of the lost sheep in the world of a shepherd. The shepherd’s search of the lost sheep suggests sweat, aching legs, a keen sense of the land, and determined thought on where the sheep in question would most likely be.

If there is a downside to using the terms shepherd and shepherding it is this – few of us are connected with agriculture anymore, and even fewer have any sense of the reality of what being a shepherd.

Being a shepherd is the antithesis of a modern office job. It is an active, dynamic, earthy, vigorous role that is demanding of your body, mind, and spirit.

The shepherd is immersed in Creation and the life of Creation. If you  meditate on the life of the shepherd, you can almost hear the sounds of sheep and cows, smell their animalness, pick up a whiff of hides and wool, and hear flies buzzing about the gifts of fertility the sheep and cattle leave behind. The shepherd enjoys peaceful moments. Even more often there are challenge and hardship. There is total immersion in Creation and its life and forces.

Psalm 23 gives a clear idea of how thoughtful and attentive to the needs of a sheep’s life a shepherd must be. This means planning and foresight about what places in the landscape will have the right plants at the right time in the right conditions. This means knowing where clean water will be available each day. The shepherd must pay attention to where there might be predators (including hostile humans) and anticipate weather patterns that could bring dangerous storms. There is a strong sense of all-encompassing competence, blue-collar work ethic, and not enjoying any luxuries of life. There is also an attunement to both the animals and to the environment.

Shepherding communicates, too, the paradox of the shepherd. Shepherds give constant protection to their herd that exist to provide humans wool, milk (yes, that’s a thing), and meat. But that doesn’t mean that the care for the sheep is any less dedicated or important.

In fact, life and death is an everyday part of the shepherd’s work. The reality of this (which the video above shows) is something that people working in offices don’t fully understand. Sheep and lambs get sick. They get in trouble. They run off. There are predators. Being a shepherd means dealing with death on a regular basis. A shepherd needs to be compassionate and tough.

Jesus spoke of this in that context in John 10:14-15. Here are the words:

“I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

The good shepherd laying down his life for the sheep is not doing so because he signed a contract. A good shepherd (as opposed to a lackluster, lazy, self-focused one) would lay down his life for his sheep because he cares for them. He does not want to see the gentle creatures, who know his voice and trust him, torn apart. Like a good police officer, fireman, or soldier, the shepherd accepts the responsibility the shepherd has been given and is ready to sacrifice all in the process.

I am convinced that there is a strong parallel between the nature of the relationship between God and humanity (as exemplified in Jesus) and the nature of what our relationship should be with God’s earth.

Jesus, as the good shepherd, was ready to lay down his life for his sheep. Are we ready to act as bravely and selflessly for God’s earth which is under our care?

Interestingly, since I began writing this post, I’ve come across other Christians using “shepherd” (like here and here). Perhaps I was unconsciously aware of this already, But none of the uses I have found so far have made clear the more challenging and inspiring implications that “shepherd” actually entails.

This is where we must defend the uniqueness and distinctiveness of words. Words matter.  They communicate to our conscious minds and to our unconscious minds.

So I am going to use “shepherd” and “shepherding” going forward when I refer to what it means as a follower of Jesus to protect and restore God’s earth. I hope you will, too. Let us commit ourselves to being shepherds of Creation. May we make this an essential part of the dedication of our whole lives to God.

Here is my prayer for you and me:

Loving God, guide us to be good shepherds of your earth as you are our good shepherd.  Like good shepherds, help us more deeply and intimately understand your earth and how land, water, and life work together. Equip us to be ready to act and speak for your vulnerable Creation in all circumstances and in all conditions with compassion, wisdom, strength, and grit.  Send your Spirit so we will be more determined to prevent your good world entrusted to us from being stripped of life and breath. We pray, too, for you to be with us when we lament the suffering of people and Creation. May your will be done by us each day.