Creation Care
I am seeing more and more people, followers of Christ included, jumping on the global warming bandwagon. If we are to believe AlGore and all of his hapless media suckers, we’ll sink into the ocean within the coming years and seep into extinction. Chicken Little is rearing his fuzzy little environmental head.
We are told to recycle, drive less, or not at all. We are made to feel guilty about any sort of consumption as if we are the only offenders of misuse of our God-given resources. We’ll all fry, if not in the pits of hell, then in as a result of our evil capitalist ways. And I say BS.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe we should care for (and enjoy) creation because God cares for it deeply and will perfect it, along with our wayward souls. And I do acknowledge that we are trashing the earth, but only to an extant. But the recycling-global-warming-anti-fossil-fuel ideological complex is not getting us anywhere. I fear we are doing the wrong things to care for creation. Here are some thoughts:
- So you take the bus to work. Great. Do you run your errands during the day? Or do you get in your car after you get home to run them? Do you know that short distance driving drives up carbon emissions because of lack of complete engine warmup? Or so I’ve heard.
- So you recycle. Are you to be commended? How much energy does it take to recycle, really? How much collective time and money are spent sorting recyclables, not mention fueling the political machine that compels us to recycle? It used to be that the trash truck came once a week. Now, instead of one truck, we get two, because the recycling truck comes separately. What are the real economics here? So far no one is rushing to clear up these questions.
- While we are on the recycling topic, wouldn’t it be better to reuse items, or use less of them, rather than spending time recycling? Add up all the collective time put into gathering together, managing, and processing recyclables and you will likely find a huge drain on our economy. Do you really need three TVs in your house, which are essentially toxic waste (same goes for computers)? I thought my mom was nuts growing up, but maybe it isn’t such a bad idea to hand wash ziplock bags and reuse them. I am sure if we all took stock, that there would be myriad ways in which we could minimize recycling, and wisely switch to reuse. Seems to me a much better way to save the environment, since it seems we are on the total brink of disaster, according to the enviro-evagelists (sorry for the sarcasm).
- Do we really need to have 40 different cleaning products to keep our oversized houses (by world standards) clean? Have you heard of Dr. Bronner? He was a quirky soap maker that espoused a wierd all-one theology. His organic liquid soaps are still around. You can clean much of your house with a couple of capfuls of soap in a bucket of warm water. Believe me, I have done it. Organic. Smells great. And you don’t have to use noxious chemicals that pollute and stuff landfills and recycling warehouses with useless containers. Oh, and BTW, I wash my hair with it too and dilute it in a reused soap pump as hand soap. It’s 9 bucks a bottle and will last you for months. And you can brush your teeth with it too. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of other products that we don’t need. Yet we have been brainwashed by advertising to think we do. Time to turn off the TV.
Point is, there are many ways that we can minimize use. Ultimately, recycling is likely a waste of time and money that can be prevented. We don’t need to consume more. We need to use less and send the money we don’t use to AIDS orphans in Africa, or homeless people in Chicago, or maybe that single mom with kids next door that is having trouble making ends meet.
We are to care for, use and steward creation. I am just not sure if the hype we hear in the news daily is to be believed. In fact, I believe most of the news if propaganda. Are you wasting your time glued to CNN or Tom Brokaw? I am praying no.
If we live simply, we’ll consume less. We consume less, and more wisely, then we’ll have less to throw away. What is your trash bin full of? Is it sending your trash guy to the chiropractor? I think we as Christ followers should set the tone and be the leaders of the environmental movement, not the mimics. We cannot resort to idolizing environmental sensitivity because it is in vogue. Rather we should live out redemptive values in balance with all the other ways Jesus calls us to live. I know I am imperfect with this. Can you join me in becoming better?
What do you think? What ideas do you have to live more simply? How are you using less, or reusing? I think this would be a great thread. Chat away. Post liberally. Get your friends to post. Let’s see what we can come up with.
