The Greek word for “household” is oikos. As springtime breathed its magic on the northern hemisphere a reality emerged—our oikos; planet earth—is being wonderfully furnished with greenery, blossoms, and creatures. I really feel it—that we are a part of a larger household. Looking back, the household I grew up in was meager; but I didn’t realize it. I had all I needed; parents who provided food, shelter, clothes, and guidance. There were other players in the wider household; grandparents, cousins, neighbors, churches, a school, Deepstep creek, woods, fields, paths, and roads.

Although I didn’t think of Deepstep community as a household, in a broader sense it was. Merriam-Webster offers two definitions of household; those who dwell under the same roof and compose a family; also : a social unit composed of those living together in the same dwelling. So there you have it. In April we celebrate “Earth Day.” Reminders come from scores of sources, such as The National Geographic Society Education. They remind us to love, protect, care for, and cherish this little green ball in the Universe we call Earth. I think it is not hyperbole to say planet earth is our oikos.

Native peoples and responsible farmers learn valuable lessons about our wonderful household. However, we humans have a spotty record of earth Stewardship. One vivid reminder is the Dust Bowl of the last century. Its horror and impact are illustrated by John Steinbeck (The Grapes of Wrath), as well as Woody Guthrie (a Dust Bows refugee —“This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land” a folk song staple). A few decades later, writer Rachel Carson— Silent Spring —raised consciousness of our callus carelessness; we still have not resolved major issues of chemical damage industry continues doing to our precious planet.

You’ve heard of the Butterfly Effect; the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state. (Wikipedia). We got a glimpse—well, more than a glimpse, of such a state during the Pandemic; the spread of the deadly virus was able to be traced through wastewater testing. Microscopic germs effected dramatic change in community health. Again I posit, the “oikos” that we live in is a household—this earthly household.

How often have you heard the term, “We are all in this together!” ? Our actions, attitudes, and adaptations in one way or another affect us all. It was not Eve’s act act of eating the fruit in the Garden of Eden that brought down the human race. It was her (and Adam’s!) greed. The driving desire of humans is for more; more food, more land, more wealth, more, more, more. Our “oikos”–household—is in great need of our attentive care. In a word, stewardship. The Genesis account of creation is abundantly clear; God created this wonderful Oikos for us to live in, to enjoy, and to be attentive, responsible stewards of it all.

© Copyright Willis H. Moore 2024