Work and Keep the Earth.

Do you think of the world's forests when you sit in the sun on your garden bench? While you sit there you might think of your bench in its previous life as a living tree probably in some other part of the world. It may have been grown in a plantation and been replaced after felling. It is sadly possible that your bench could have been a wild tree – maybe a tropical hardwood – that was cleared for a one off profit for the contractor. The land exposed might yield a useful crop for a few short years, but the soil is far too thin to survive without its protective covering of trees. So the cost of your bench is the change from a living and productive forest to a degraded piece of land or even a semi-desert. The rate of deforestation worldwide is alarming - in 2003 deforestation of the Amazon was 40% higher than it had been in 2001 and 10% of the world's tree species face extinction because of exploitation.

In Genesis 2:15 we are commanded to 'work and keep' the earth. Keep is the same word as in the Aaronic blessing (The Lord bless you and keep you). We are asked to look after our world in a way that maintains its health and fruitfulness. So next time you buy a bench or a table or indeed paper – think of the forest from which it came and make sure you live within the blessing of keeping the Earth as God intends.

Revd Margot Hodson is chaplain of Jesus College, Oxford