Pollution is an evil to mankind in all of its forms. Man is made up of the soul, the spirit and the body; there are certain lifestyles that are legally permitted, socially acceptable and economically lucrative, but it pollutes the environment and its inhabitants — man, animal and vegetation. Some have immediate effect on the air, land and sea, while others take a while before the damage is noticed. Today, every phase of human life seems to have been affected by pollution.
Research has shown that oil exploration and exploitation produces environmental hazards that are “slow poisons” in that they often take months and years to cause disease and death.
But even when the damage is noticeable; it is either permitted, tolerated or overlooked because it is very lucrative, and a major revenue earner in Nigeria. It has been further shown in indices: “An average of 240,000 barrels of crude oil are spilled in the Niger Delta every year, mainly due to unknown causes (31.85 per cent), third party activity (20.74 per cent) and mechanical failure (17.04 per cent). The spills contaminate the surface water, ground water, ambient air and the crops with hydrocarbons, including known carcinogens like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and benxo (a) pyrene, naturally occurring radioactive materials, and trace metals that were further bio-accumulated in some food crops.
“The oil spills could lead to a 60 per cent reduction in household food security and were capable of reducing the ascorbic acid content of vegetables by as much as 36 per cent and the crude protein content of cassava by 40 per cent. These could result in a 24 per cent increase in the prevalence of childhood malnutrition. Animal studies indicate that contact with Nigerian crude oil could be hemotoxic and hepatotoxic, and could also cause infertility and cancer.”
What Is Pollution?
Pollution is similar to contamination, trash, defilement, toxic waste, desecration, effluence, destruction, or abuse. It is defined as “introduction of harmful materials into the environment. These harmful materials are called pollutants. Pollutants can be natural, such as volcanic ash. They can also be created by human activity, such as trash or runoff produced by factories. Pollutants damage the quality of air, water, and land. Many things that are useful to people produce pollution. Cars spew pollutants from their exhaust pipes. Burning coal to create electricity pollutes the air. Industries and homes generate garbage and sewage that can pollute the land and water. Pesticides —chemical poisons used to kill weeds and insects — seep into waterways and harm wildlife.”
There are kinds of pollution such as air, water and land pollution. In modern society, there are also specific types of pollutions such as noise, light and plastic pollution. All kinds of pollution have negative effects on the environment. Often times it has adverse impact to human health. Such as chemical, pesticides, poisonous substances in our food, toxins, all these are invisible, but damaging.
The root cause to the rise in the pollution experienced in the world, today, is because man is morally and spiritually corrupt, which reflects in greed, selfishness, deceit and destruction. Man is a spiritual being; whenever the spirit is affected it reflects in the physical body and environment. Everything you see humans experience physically has a spiritual bearing. The moral and spiritual corruption of man primarily gives rise not only to natural pollution, but spiritual pollution. The dangers and risks of spiritual pollution will lead life to spiritual ruin and doom. Natural pollution is very dangerous, but spiritual pollution is more dangerous and destructive. Spiritual pollution can contaminate the total wellbeing of an individual.
Jesus, while teaching as recorded by the gospel according to Mark 7:20-23 (KJV) said: “And he said, that which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”
The defilement and contamination of the spiritual being of an individual, community, or nation can be very dangerous and blindfolding. The Bible is rich with teachings on things that can bring about either physical or spiritual pollution. “Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it,” (Numbers 35:33).
“For the land has become defiled, therefore, I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land has spewed out its inhabitants…the men of the land who have been before you have done all these (sexual) abominations, and the land has become defiled,” (Leviticus 18:25).
“The earth mourns and withers…it is polluted by its inhabitants, for they transgressed laws, violated statutes, broke the everlasting covenant. Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and those who live in it are held guilty,” (Isaiah 24:4-6b).
“They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with the blood,” (Psalm 106:38).
“The creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time,” (Romans 8:22-23).
“How long must this land mourn? Even the grass in the fields has withered. The wild animals and birds have disappeared because of the evil in the land. For the people have said, ‘the Lord does not see what is happening!’” (Jeremiah 12:4).
“Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God,” Leviticus 19:31.
“Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord.
“And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you,” 2 Corinthians 6:17.
“Depart, depart, go out from there, touch nothing unclean; go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the Lord,” Isaiah 52:11.
“Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls,” James 1:21.
The Scripture Outlines Certain Lifestyles That Ruin Both Land And Man
Sexual immorality and sexual perversion – Lev. 18:20, 22, 23,26-28, see Nehemiah 9:26-29, 1Timothy 1:8-11. Today in some quarters sexual sin has been christened as love. The Bible reads: (1 Corinth. 13:4-8) – 4: “Love is patient; love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5: It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6: Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. 7: It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8: Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.”
Across the world today we are experiencing high level of sexual perversion, even among acclaimed “Christians” who claim to know God, but deny the power of God and the authenticity of scripture.
In Paul’s letter to the Romans 1:27-28, it is written: “And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;”
And 1Corinth. 6:15-16 reads: “Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of a harlot? God forbid what? Know ye not that he, which is joined to a harlot is one body? For two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
And in verse 18, it reads: “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.”
1 Thess. 4:3-5: “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification that ye should abstain from fornication: that everyone of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God.”
Turning a deaf ear to God’s word could be dreadful seen in Prov. 28:9: “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.”
In Lev. 20:10-16: “And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
11: And the man that lieth with his father’s wife hath uncovered his father’s nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
12: And if a man lies with his daughter in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.
13: If a man also lies with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
14: And if a man takes a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.
15: And if a man lies with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.
16: And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
Furthermore in Hebrews 13:4: “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” Then in Exodus. 20:14: “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
Pretending not to see sin as sin is deadly – Prov. 28:13, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whosoever confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
Be Circumcised
God has called us to be holy. God has created man for His blessings and in His image.
The coming of sin ruined everything, but Jesus came to set man free. He removed the foreskin of sin and restored beauty and glory to man. Circumcision is the cutting off of the prepuce or foreskin of males.
Benefits
• Reduces the risk for infection or diseases; easier hygiene – simple to wash.
• Prevents penile’s problems associated with the head of the penis.
Circumcision is painful in babies, but more with adults. It means cleansing, removal, separation, biblically; the word: circumcised, uncircumcised, and the likes appears more than 100 times in the Bible and used in different ways. Circumcision for men was the cut-off and in front of – the Hebrew word “mul.” In the Mosaic law – circumcision was done on the eight day after birth (Lev. 12:3, Philip. 3:5, Lk. 2:21) and it was performed on the Sabbath Day during the days of Jesus – Jn. 7:22-23
Furthermore, the Bible talks about the circumcision of the heart – (Deut. 30:6, 10:16) which means – Cutting off and cutting away of sin. It helps you to have a changed heart.
Circumcision can be done by “oneself.” Through circumcision an individual can have a new spiritual life, a conversion and a changed way of life. It became a technical term to refer to the Jewish population and the Gentiles, (Gal. 2:8-9, 12-13, see Rom. 4:12, 15:8, Col. 4:11, Titus 1:10).
True Circumcision
Looking at Romans, 10:9, and Phillip. 3:2-3 you will discover that what is important is not the physical cutting off of the foreskin – Gal. 6:15, but the cutting off of sinfulness.
Be you therefore circumcised, let the Holy Spirit clean your heart from dead works.
Pray this simple prayer today: Lord touch my heart and make me clean and whole. Set me free from every form of pollution through the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, Amen!
• Ven. Stephen Wolemonwu is the Rector, Ibru Ecumenical Centre, Agbarha-Otor, Delta State (08035413812).
