Right now, in these recent days, I have been met with a serious urgency to be an activist for God's creation and caring for the planet. I am also met with a delicacy of this new passion He has put before me. There are so many political and religious things intertwined with talk of environmentalism. There are so many facest and tangets you could go off on.
I remember learning how to use a recycling bin and why we recycled in grade school. I remember learning to look on a package or bottle to know if it is recyclable or not. I remember learning in detail how composting works when I started working at Whole Foods in Seattle just a few short years ago. I am afraid to say, though, that none of this really struck a chord in me. My larger ignorance kept me from caring very much. Trash, recycling, yadda yadda. Got it. If my plastic bottle ends up in the recycling bin that's good. If it doesn't, then oh well. I'm sure tens of thousands end up in the trash, and my one bottle wont make a difference. I'm sure tens of thousands also end up in the recycling bin, and that WILL make a difference. It doesn't really have a whole lot to do with me.
How many years have people been calling me a "hippie"? For whatever reason that subculture stereotype gets pinned on me, being pro-environmentalism should be one of them, right? Not exactly.
Until recently.
To tell you the truth, the more I have been diving into my bible over the past few months the more I am seeing Gods hand in our planet... and, the more I am met with an urgency to save it and preserve it in whatever way is possible at this point. This is a sacred, and spiritual place.
In Genesis He called us to steward the Earth. He told Adam and Eve to work and take care of it. He has asked us to give the Earth rest ever seventh year, and judged Israel for not following his commands.
"The land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land" (Lev. 25:23-24)
"The earth is the LORD'S, and everything in it." (Ps. 24:1).
That whole Genesis part in the bible is where it seems so many Christians have gotten it wrong. Dominion over the Earth doesn't mean to rape and deplete it for our own resources. To steward and rule over this planet means to care for it in every way that we can. God mad this place to provide for us, and we must provide in return.
And while we're at it, lets talk about the "end times". I don't think, folks, that we're going to end up playing harps in the clouds. Know I know this has been said before, it's certainly not news... but seriously. Can you imagine how boring that'd be? I'd rather stare at mountains than clouds all day.
Rev. 21:3-5 says "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
God is going to make everything NEW! He's going to restore this Earth. We're not going to a new place. He's bring the Kingdom of Heaven here to Earth. "God's dwelling place is among the people". How great is that? If that's happening, then this planet must be a pretty spectacular place.
To be honest with you I can't imagine being a Christian and not a hyped up environmentalist, too. I also can't imagine someone who doesn't believe in the God of Christ and being quite as passionate for environmentalism than a Christian could be. I don't mean any disrespect in that way. But if there is nothing to look forward to for ourselves or our families, than really what IS the point? We'll all die anyway. But God gives us a reason to live and a reason to be passionate about our lives and the future lives of our families, and the life of this great planet we live on.
Pearly gates? Shoot. Heaven is coming to Earth. Screw the pearly gates. I'm going hiking. And with my Grandpa Bob. We'll talk about all sorts of things we didn't get a chance to since I was, you know, one year old when he passed.
"Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven."
But how do I get my brothers and sisters on this planet to understand the weight of how important it is to care for creation? I struggle with some thoughts along side Anna Clark as I read in an essay she wrote about the environment.
"When I first started sharing my convictions about the environment, I thought, If I can just make people understand that saving the planet is the most critical issue of our time, we might all be okay, not understanding how sheltered and lopsided that point of view appears to many people. Try telling a mother whose child is terminally ill that melting glaciers should matter to her. Try telling a breadwinner who fears losing his job about the plight of the polar bear. Try telling a fundamentalist Christian who sees the end times as imminent that she should care about preserving the planet."
So much passion for this planet is stirred inside me. I want to be able to tell everyone that this is an important issue, and I want them to BELIEVE ME! But if they don't I sort of get it. I was once there too. I didn't care too much and I don't think anyone could have convinced me to care except for God himself. That has humbled me. I will not stand on the street corners and try to get strangers to sign up for GreenPeace. I will not glare at any persons for their ignorance towards environmentalism. I am humbled by my own ignorance and I now find myself searching for a delicate balance. I will NOT be an in-your-face environmentalist. And you know what, I will not be a perfect one either. I might throw something that could have been recycled in the trash accidentally. I might forget to turn off the light before I leave. I might do a lot of things, but I sure as hell am going to try not to. And I'm going to do my darnest to care for creation and pray for the awakening of unseen passions in the people around me.
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And may I remind you that care for creation doen't begin or end with recycling and shutting of lights. It's got to do with coal mining (gosh, that's doing so much to water and HUMANS that is horribly devastating. Irreversible things. People are dying). It has to do with Monsanto and their sick way of realigning and adding things to the genes of food and modifying them to fit their own sick ways of business. It has to taking the untouched places of the planet that have a chance to remain as they are intended to be, and then tying to pollute that place with dams and structures all in the name of progression. It has to do with over-fishing and throwing off the entire ecosystem of the ocean. It has to do with the fact that millions and millions of forest trees are cut down per YEAR. It has to do with a lot of things. And I think there is something more specifically that strikes a chord in each of us. It's just a matter of finding it.
