PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

March 9, 2022

WHY BIRDS MATTER

In 1918 the United States congress passed the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.  It was adopted in response to the wanton killing of birds that saw the extinction of certain species.  National Geographic in partnership with the National Audubon Society, BirdLife International, and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology observed the centennial anniversary of the treaty’s adoption by declaring 2018 the Year of the Bird.  Jonathan Franzen in the January 2018 issue of National Geographic magazine had an essay, Why Birds Matter, to launch the year.

Franzen looked at the question of why do birds matter from the perspective of why do they have value to humans.  He wrote: “Value, in the late Anthropocene, has come almost exclusively to mean economic value, utility to human beings.” (NG 2018, p. 41)  Birds perform important functions that benefit humans.  For Jonathan birds also are a clue to the health of our ethical values.

There is a concern that with the encroachment of human upon the planet birds are in danger because they do not possess the ability to adapt to relatively new situations quickly.  Therefore, their survival depends on humans’ commitment to preserve them.  The goal of the Year of the Bird was to “examine how our changing environment is leading to dramatic losses among bird species around the globe.  And just as important (document) what we can do about it.” (NG 2018, p. 4)

From a Christian perspective it seems to me that there is one argument why birds matter that Jonathan Franzen does not mention.  Birds matter because they matter to God since He created them.  “And God said, ‘Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.’ …  God bless them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth. … And God saw that it was good.’” (Genesis 1:20, 22, 25b)  Birds have value because they have value for God.

On the sixth day God creates humankind to take care of all that He has created.  “Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’” (Genesis 1:26)  The reason that we should be concerned about birds is that God has given us the responsibility to look after their welfare and take care of them.

Many years ago our family attended a play about Noah while camping at one of our State Parks.  In the play Noah’s children are extoling how great they are since God had chosen then from all the people on the earth to be saved on the ark.  God brings them back to earth.  He tells them that the reason He had saved them was because someone needed to take of the animals.  They were chosen not for privilege but for responsibility.

Why do birds matter?  Because God created them!  Why should we be concerned about the welfare of birds?  Because God has created us to be His representative here on earth!  Hopefully National Geographic and its partners will help us better understand how to discharge our responsibilities.