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Last summer my 3-year-old grandson, Marcus, was over for a long Sunday afternoon. It was hot. Marcus loves water. So his Yia Yia (that would be me) got out his $5.99 plastic purple wading pool. We filled it to the brim with water from the hose. Marcus happily splashed and poured and plopped in his pool—until the grass clippings from his feet covered the water's surface from his repeated trips in and out.

Then Marcus wanted to dump the "gukky" water and refill the pool. So we dumped the water on a "dryish" spot on the lawn, uncurled the hose again and refilled the pool. But Marcus lost interest in the pool and preferred the hose. He watered the flowers and the bushes and the grass. He watered the steps to the deck and the rocks and the flagstone patio. Then he got back into his pool, taking fresh grass clippings with him. Within minutes came the next plea, "Yia Yia, we need to dump out this gukky water—again!"

I'd been playing along up until his last request. But surprisingly, something stirred within me. In Colorado, we've been suffering drought conditions and the accompanying water restrictions. Water shortage is a real issue in our region. Marcus had already filled and dumped two purple plastic pools full of water on our now-not-so-thirsty grass.

Oh come on. He's just a kid. He's having fun. Why not?

But I felt strangely guilty. And responsible. As if I'd just spray-painted graffiti on an underpass or consumed an entire carton of mint chocolate chip ice cream all by myself. I felt horrifically, gluttonously wrong!

Out of my mouth came a response I'd never offered to my preschoolers. "Marcus, water is very special to our planet. Jesus gave us the world to take care of, and we only have so much water, so we can't waste it. Water is expensive. We need to use it carefully."

Marcus looked at me, took in my words and plunged back into his grass-clipping-topped pool without further objection. Made sense to him!

While my grandson went back to pouring and drinking and spitting, I thought about how I'd never taught my children such a thing. I never even really considered it as something I should teach them. I remembered hearing my in-laws brushing their teeth in their bathroom—water on, water off, water on, water off. I'd always thought that was so weird. My husband said his parents had learned to conserve water in the Depression, and the habit stuck. I thought that was old-fashioned. And cheap. And unnecessary.

That afternoon, as I sat beside Marcus, I recognized an integration of the planet and its people in my view of things. This is our Father's world. People were made in his image—and the planet on which we live belongs to him uniquely.

Most of us feel a little confused about where we're supposed to "land" on issues of the planet: Global warming. Over- population. Endangered species. Disposable diapers. Recycling. Conservation. We care—deeply so—about the people on the planet. But the planet itself? It's confusing.

Whatever your take on the environmental controversy of the day, the fact is 100 years ago, 1.5 billion people used the planet's resources to meet their everyday needs. Today, there are 6 billion people using the same resources. A biblical world view calls Christ-followers to steward the world's resources so that people today have enough and the planet is preserved for the people of tomorrow.

God created this world for a couple of reasons. He made planet Earth to be our home. We get to enjoy it and work it and live off its resources. And we have charge over it. The book of Genesis tells us we are to fill the earth and subdue it. We are to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground … everything that has the breath of life in it. God made the earth for us.

God also made planet Earth for himself. Through the world, God reveals himself to people. As St. Augustine wrote in 345 A.D., "Some people, in order to discover God, read books. But there is a great book: the very appearance of created things. Look above you! Look below you! Note it. Read it. God, whom you want to discover, never wrote that book with ink. Instead he set before your eyes the things that he had made. Can you ask for a louder voice than that?"

Or if you prefer, consider these words from Psalm 19:1-4: "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."

I have to admit, I tend to focus more on the fact that God made the planet for people. I can forget God also made the planet for himself—and that the earth reveals God to others. I pray for the people on the planet, but then I can overlook the fact that the planet is one of the vehicles created by God to point people to him.

We're called to be earth-keepers, planet-lovers, our Father's-world children, creation-caretakers and homeowners. Whether we literally own or lease our dwelling in the land, we really are "homeowners" of this planet. When we refuse to settle back into a "let the landlord fix it" mentality, we take responsibility today for tomorrow.

This is our Father's world. Better moms make a better world—for their children and for all the children of future mothers who will dwell on this planet.

Elisa Morgan is CEO of MOPS International, Inc. She lives with her husband, Evan, in Colorado, near their grandson, Marcus.

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