In pastoring I’ve heard the quip, “ministry would be great if it weren’t for the people.” When you complain that there are too many people, it’s worth remembering that you classify as part of that unfortunate category to someone else. Sometimes we epitomize cities as dens of sin while nature reflects purity and innocence. But God made human beings the crown of creation—the only thing created in his image, the only thing you will ever encounter with an eternal soul.

I was in self-check out at our local grocery store when I overhead a conversation that has stuck with me. A middle-aged lady was explaining to another customer how a relative of hers had recently sold his home in Boise in order to buy a large tract of land in Montana. He purchased this massive estate for less than the cost of his home here. She was feverish with excitement about the opportunity.

She concluded with some mixed advice for her fellow shopper, who was warming to the idea, or at least sociably humoring her, “I would get in on that now. But don’t tell anybody, or else they’ll ruin it, like they did here!” As a recent transplant, I don’t have much room to criticize, seeing as I am one of the ruiners. But this attitude on rapid population growth comes out a lot, and for a Christian, it’s the wrong one.

I get it. I don’t like paving pebbles cracking my windshield, traffic and road closures, and longer lines at Target. Healthy processing of change is at least fifty percent grieving. You lose people, freedoms, and customs that never return. Growth requires adapting to change and seeing familiarity die.

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