I got thinking this afternoon about how Christianity impacts my decisions. My environmental ethic is the first thing that comes to mind. It then also raises my first set of questions on how Christianity should be guiding my life.
Mandated to be Stewards
On so many levels, we live in a time of environmental crisis.
Climate change.
Water use.
Fossil fuel use.
Deforestation.
Recycling.
Acid rain.
Runoff.
Species extinction.
So much of it has been caused or influenced by the actions of humans.
If there is anything that I derive from the idea that God created the earth and us in it, it is that if we love God, we shouldn’t be crapping all over the Creation. If I care about God, if I value God’s creation, then I must take care of that Creation. The idea starts in Genesis. It continues in Job. The idea that God created the world, and that this Creation is Good. The idea that we humans are but one single aspect of a greater world. Even the way Christ talked about caring for those who are in need. To me, it all adds up to mean one simple, but strong thing:
I believe that we, as Christians, are mandated to care for the earth.
I believe that we are mandated to take care of God’s creation, be stewards of the earth and at the very least, not take actions to destroy parts of it any further. In my life, this means I strive to live in an extremely environmentally conscious way.
But how much of a steward is necessary…. really?
But okay. So what if I believe that I’m mandated to care for the earth? What impact does that belief actually have on the way I live my life?
If I give my values a respectful nod, I recycle or donate some money to the Sierra Club. Perhaps I use cloth grocery bags or maybe even bus to work on Earth Day.
If I live my values to the fullest, I feel like I should move to an earthship in Taos, New Mexico – living off the grid, growing my own food, recycling and reusing water with the diligence of the Fremen in “Dune” or Kevin Costner in “Waterworld”. And perhaps I could do that. And perhaps I should.
Is the call of Christianity? To go all out for the things you believe?
Many people believe that it is. Arguably, Jesus said that it was. I definitely recall him making mention to the disciples of turning their backs on their families, dropping their nets and following him … to travel and spread the Gospel, to jail, to his death. But thinking in that direction depresses me. If you can always do more, you are never doing enough. I end up thinking, what’s the point in trying at all?
And this is where my struggle begins.
I want to do more than the minimum, and realistically, I’m not going to do the maximum. At least not right now. So how much should I push myself on this issue? What standard of behavior should I hold myself to? And how do I make those decisions?
Initial idea
My initial thought is that I do okay in some ways, but I have many areas of my daily choices that could use improvement. I recycle like a fanatic & buy recycled goods. I’m careful not to waste food. I buy local and organic. I consciously lessen the use of paper and water – some days with more success than others.
The big area in my life that needs improvement is car use. I drive to work every day. Perhaps my next challenge to myself should be to explore other ways of doing that commute.
William said,
October 28, 2007 at 12:59 am
This is a loaded area. One could argue Genesis 1:28. The question is how much is mankind to subdue the earth? Subdue means everything from vanquish to cultivate in an agricultural sense. So where do we draw the line?
PETA occasionally makes sense. By going vegan, you do reduce your “carbon footprint”. By cultivating livestock, allot of land is required to graze them and feed them. The same grains could have been used to flat out feed people. But to get all the amenio acids you need you pretty much have to eat all the time. Look how much time livestock spends eating. Last time I checked those animals spend allot of time eating. Kind of rambling I guess.
I could go on and on about this, but I will just close with a reply from Martin Luther when asked what he would do if he knew the world was ending tomorrow. “Plant a tree”
Rosemary said,
October 30, 2007 at 2:04 am
Martin Luther said that? What a fabulous image of hope. I love it!
And that’s a good point bringing up PETA and one’s carbon footprint. I’ve been on a red meat kick lately. That is to say, I’ve been craving red meat A LOT and eating A LOT of it. For me, this usually means that I’m low on iron and my body needs more. I think I’ll challenge myself to find other ways of getting myself the nutrients my body is craving. I can leave less of an imprint on the ecosystem, yet still get the nutrients I need. I just need to be proactive about it.
I think I do something different with Genesis 1:28. As with any single passage, I need to look at the context in which the line happens and the context in which the story was originally told before I can draw wisdom for how it impacts my life today.
So, Genesis 1:28-31:
God blessed [the male and female he had created], and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
It is true – it’s hard if not impossible to understand exactly what the word “subdue” is intended to mean. But I cannot read this passage and say that this is God allowing me to do whatever I want with creation. Nor can I say that this passage has anything to do with such modern issues as overpopulation and eco-crises. This is a creation story from thousands of years ago. We only started talking about the environmental crisis in the 60s.
If I do try to draw wisdom from the passage, I see that it describes a world in which we as humans and all animals of creation have been provided for by God – in a good and beautiful way. If I am to try to relate this passage to my environmental ethic, then that ethic must flow from that.
(I also have a snide reaction, too.) I wouldn’t take the comment about subduing the earth any more literally than I would the comment about us getting to eat every plant. I mean, obviously God did not mean for us to be munching on poison ivy. (But that’s a bit off-focus.) :~)
William said,
November 1, 2007 at 1:21 am
When I pulled that quote, I pulled it in the context that allot of Christians do today. Drive the most inefficient SUV not cause it is safer for your family, but because it what everyone else does. It is easy to see the building up of the Christian culture in the world to “Take the earth and do unto her as you will (ie rape). You can see this attitude in allot of conservative writers. Hardly a husbandly approach to the earth that I believe that God intended. There are so many ways one can look at things. While I don’t really believe in the Carbon crisis, as this would lead to a dramatic increase in plant life. But I do believe in the pollution of the earth. Look what happens to the earth around those plants that refine nickel (Most important ingredient for the batteries in hybrids, etc) or mercury refineries (what is required to make all those light bulbs that greenpeace says we must use).
How do we reconcile the passages that talk about being fruitful and multiplying and filling the earth? The places that can least afford people have huge population densities. Think China and India with each over 1 billion people…
I admit there are no easy answers and I am not the most eloquent with the written word.