Buzzwords: green,
eco-, sustainable, organic, homemade, simple, healthy, local… you see where
this is going.
Matt and I live in Seattle, where there’s no shortage of
this kind of language. And though I have
yet to literally hug a tree, we feel right at home in the ecocentric
Northwest.
I was not always on board with the “environmentalism”
paradigm (not that I was “anti-” either… I just hadn’t truly given it much
thought). As a kid, my parents raised me
to love Jesus and love other people as well as I could. And as I’ve gotten older, I’m learning just
how integral caring for the earth is to both of those things. There are a mind-boggling number of
scientists, documentaries, and even small island nations that will tell you how
dangerous climate change and resource exploitation are to humanity. I don’t need to rehash those details here (if
you’re curious, I’ve added some links below).
If you disagree, that’s okay—I hope we can still have this conversation
anyway.
I’ve had some interesting discussions on faith and ecological
responsibility since starting my grad program at Fuller, and this culminated
most recently at the end of last quarter when I wrote my final exegetical paper
on a section from Romans 8. Starting in
verse 18, Paul writes…
“I
consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to
the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing
for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to
futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be
set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of
the children of God.” (NRSV)
If you read through the entire
text, you’ll find that there’s an “already-but-not-yet” element to Paul’s
understanding of adoption and redemption.
Jesus inaugurated something great, but the Church he set up is bridging
the gap between the Spirit that is already at work and the Kingdom that is yet
to be fully realized. I have heard the
theory that the earth was given to humans to tame and to use; and that our
rightful place is in heaven one day—so what difference does trying to save it
make? Paul (in my own humble
understanding) seems to disagree. There
is a place for creation—all of
creation—alongside the redemption of the children of God. Might I even go so far as to suggest that we
are called to be instrumental in
breaking that “bondage to decay” that the world is experiencing? John does say that God so loved “the world,” right? Perhaps we should be doing more on its behalf.
“God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.” (Genesis
1:31).
What if God, in creating humans in His image, intended for our “dominion”
over the earth (Gen 1:27) to look more like stewardship
than conquest? In Ancient Near
Eastern traditions, bearing the ‘image’ of the king meant bearing the stamp of
his authority to rule, and doing so in the
same manner the king himself would. The ‘image-bearer’ is a representative. How are we, those of us who call ourselves
Christians, representing the care and compassion of God to our natural environment
and the other species sharing it? Because
we know now that what we do to creation, we do to ourselves.
So here’s where I land on this: global and national policies need to change. I firmly believe that Christians should be
the first advocates willing to speak
up in our private and political spheres for the protection of the earth. However, while my voice makes whatever impact
it may, I need the ins-and-outs of my daily life to reflect those values and
convictions as well. There are other tangible
things I can do. Things that may both
(a) make an impact on the shalom of
creation (even if it’s a very small one), and (b) regularly remind me that God
gave us good gifts to hold and care for, not to use and lose. Enter #sustainabilitygoals.
Some of these are practices Matt
and I are currently trying to put in place, and some are challenges that we
hope to tackle in the near future. Either
way, here is a start to some small things [I think] we can do to steward well:
·
Using
re-usable over disposable products.
Water bottles, coffee mugs, shopping bags, produce bags, napkins and
paper towels, straws… the list here can get pretty substantial.
·
Buying in
bulk. The bulk section that is: grains,
beans, baking supplies… bring your own containers and skip the excess
packaging.
·
Cooking
more at-home meals. You’re more
likely to spend less, waste less, and consume more real food products. Plus, there’s always more to learn!
·
Considering
a minimalist approach // learning to declutter. Decrease ‘stuff,’ decrease
stress. We generally have more than we
need.
·
Thinking
about our traveling ‘footprint.’ Do
you walk, bike, take public transportation?
·
Eating
less meat. It takes a lot less land
and water to produce veggies.
·
Recycling
and composting. Even biodegradable
materials become toxic in landfills.
·
Unsubscribing. Paper and internet junk mail? Don’t need that.
·
Practicing
consumer consciousness. This
includes clothing and household items—ethical and high quality products do
exist.
·
Planting
a garden. Producing healthy food +
connecting intimately with what we eat = overall win.
·
Reducing
household energy use. Turning off
lights, unplugging appliances and accessories, and turning off the water each
take just a quick second.
If you’re already doing some of these things, I’d love to
hear how they’re going! Or if you have
new ideas, please share and we can add to the list. I know it’s easy to feel like a small fish in
a big pond when it comes to changing the system. But as Bob Pierce (the founder of World
Vision) once said, “Don’t fail to do something just because you can’t do everything.”
Christ has no body on
earth but yours,
no hands but yours,
no feet but yours.
Yours are the eyes
through which
Christ’s compassion
for the world is to look out;
yours are the feet
with which He is to go about doing good;
and
yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now.
-St. Teresa of Avila
Additional
resources on climate change:
-
From NASA: https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
-
From the EPA: https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators
-
Documentary on the islands of the Maldives: http://theislandpresident.com/
