I’m somewhat amused by our fascination with things that are “natural.” The label is usually applied to things we ingest, but it’s also seen on everything from soap to clothing. I don’t think I’ve seen a natural car yet…Oh wait…I think we call those horses. As I recall from my reading they dirtied up a city like no car ever could.

Now don’t get me wrong. There is nothing superior to God’s creation. In fact I have to believe that God gave us everything we need on this earth to solve any problem we may encounter. Most of it probably grows “naturally.” That is essentially what we mean by the term natural. It required no transformation by the hand of man to make it what it is.

But how much of what we call natural can really fit that description? Unless you went out into the jungle and pulled it out of the ground yourself and ate it, it has been through man made processes. Natural is a meaningless word. Man has never really created anything. We only take that which God created and arrange it in new ways to form something that would not come to be without our intervention. There is nothing that is not natural since all of its components came from nature at some time. The distinction of organic versus inorganic is more meaningful, but even here there is human intervention to bring the desired organic elements together.

The thing I find laughable is the assumption that just because it is natural or organic it is good for you. How many epidemic scares have we seen in the last few years?  Ebola nearly had us paralyzed with fear.  Why?  It’s all natural; it must be good for you! No one in their right mind would accept that, yet we snatch up items on the supermarket shelf that say organic or natural with the idea that they are going to be better for us without questioning what makes them organic or natural. Cases of e coli infection are higher with organic foods because they are grown using dung for fertilizer. Want some potatoes?

I’m not saying we don’t corrupt or misuse what God has provided. WE do, and we don’t need to look to chemical factories to find examples. Last time I checked, Marijuana, the opium poppy, and coca all grew naturally. We should be prudent in choosing what we consume, but we should not buy into the lie that anything man touches becomes bad. Man used his God given ability to make the world better. Enjoy all of God’s creation, even the stuff we’ve rearranged.