Delight in Diversity

I have spent this spring watching successive waves of wildlife invading a newly dug pond in our garden. First, some lively pairs of frogs appeared, followed predictably by hundreds of tadpoles, then expanses of filamentary algae. Then we bought some goldfish, and attracted a heron which ate them all. So I bought some more goldfish and a net, only to discover that most of the original fish had merely been frightened, not eaten, by the heron, so now we have far too many fish. Then the other day I discovered that this aquatic menagerie had been joined by a solemn pale-faced newt.

The point is that nature naturally tends to variety. Too small a pond, too big a preponderance of one species and everything gets out of balance, and becomes unstable. We are beginning to realise this. A world of nothing but human beings and food plants is inherently unstable. And so politicians and scientists are trying to hammer out agreements to protect biodiversity.

It is a sound Christian principle, too: St Paul likens the community of the church to a body, made of different organs. Too many eyes would be a nonsense. Instead, we have a variety of complementary organs, each with its own special function. God delights in difference, in variety, and that is a principle which humankind must learn to appreciate.

Ian James is Diocesan Environment Advisor