I’ve been surprised to find, after moving back from Boulder recently, how much Christians resist the idea of taking care of the environment. Before I seem so above it all, I need to make a confession. I used to be of the most wasteful, socially unconscious people you could ever meet.
Growing up, my inability to remember to turn off lights in our house was legendary. My first car was a big diesel truck; a vehicle seldom occupied by anyone other than myself and never once used for hauling purposes. I thought recycling was for tree huggers who were drinking the Liberal Kool-Aid. And, I scoffed at anyone suggesting I consider my habits of consumption.
Then I had a wake up call. I heard people like Jim Wallis challenge Christians to think beyond the pet Christian issues of abortion and gay marriage and apply our worldview more consistently to all areas of life. In other words, all things must live in subjection to God’s rule and reign in our lives.
“In the total expanse of human life there is not a single square inch of which the Christ, who alone is sovereign, does not declare, ‘That is mine!’” Abraham Kuyper
The majority of mainstream evangelicals have bought the lie that the environment is a Liberal issue, rather than an issue that is affects us all as citizens of creation. The controversy over the science of Global Warming and the arguments over environmental policy only help to encourage throwing the baby out with bath water. Additionally, Christians confuse a Biblical worldview with an American worldview, and they are not the same.
It is time for us to suspend judgment and carefully consider what it means to apply a Christian worldview to the environment. It is my contention that the Church should be leading the charge for wise stewardship of the earth, as well as many other issues of social consciousness. We need to wake up and realize this is OUR issue precisely because of our Christian worldview and it is time to step up and lead by example.
“Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the seas, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves the on earth.” Genesis 1:28, NKJV
Christians are called to subdue the earth. “To bring under cultivation.” The image is that of stewardship, of gardening, of taking raw elements and a making them grow and become beautiful. All throughout scripture, the idea of land is sacred and generational. Themes of legacy run strong. We have a responsibility to cultivate and preserve the earth for God’s glory, not to exploit or destroy it.
Unfortunately, we have adopted an American worldview masquerading as a Christian worldview. It seems to assert a “right to consumption.” An almost defiant attitude of “You’re not the boss of me. You can’t make me drive a smaller car or recycle because I don’t want to.” We have lost sight of our calling to stewardship and replaced it with an attitude of ownership and entitlement. We forget that all things belong to God. We have essentially invented the concept of the unsustainable lifestyle, marked by greed, usury, wastefulness, thoughtlessness, immaturity and arrogance.
“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.” Leviticus 25:23-24.
A Christian worldview also has a correct understanding of the creator/creature distinction, resulting in humility. God is the Creator and all that he created is marked with his fingerprints. Would you ever consider defaming the work of Michelangelo by spray painting over the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel? Of course not, it would dishonor the artist. How much more must we remember our place as the created ones who must honor God by honoring and valuing what he had created and called good.
“Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.” Genesis 1:31
Instead, I believe a Christian worldview in much more holistic, seeing how all of creation is interrelated, “emphasizing the importance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts.” A holistic perspective recognizes that it actually does matter where and how you throw your trash away, or how much fuel you use, or whether you dump harmful chemicals into the environment. Ecosystems are dependent upon one another; relationships are dependent upon one another. Simply, actions have consequences and in America, we like to forget that.
Further, I think a holistic Christian worldview sees that part of wise, godly consumption is thinking about where the items we consume come from and how they are produced. If they are produced or harvested in conditions that abuse, exploit, or dishonor either the workers or the earth, it is profoundly immoral. And, if we turn a blind eye, so that we can continue to buy things for the lowest price possible without affecting on our conscience, shame on us. All people are created in God’s image and should be treated fairly and with dignity.
The bottom line is this; no one should care more about the environment than Christians! We believe that God himself fashioned every piece of it with his own hands, after all. How can we reconcile recklessly using it for our own purposes instead of wisely cultivating it for His glory? I believe it is time for a new day, a day when we remember and say that all of God’s creation is sacred and under his rule. We are called, therefore, not to worship it or make in an idol, but rather to tenderly care for and nurture it in a way that speaks of the truth of the Gospel.
Very well said. Thanks!
Great articulation, Megan. I saw an Oprah episode recently (okay, there’s a confession!) where people were “dumpster diving” — pulling out all the good things (mostly food) that had gotten thrown needlessly away. It was quite enlightening. A family was actually living on all that had been thrown away. I agree, the flip side of freedom is responsibility. I want to be more intentional in what I am doing with the environment (and every area of my life) because it is right to do so, not just because fuel prices are forcing me to live differently. Thanks for “fueling” the idea fire. love you
Excellent essay on Christian stewardship. Keep it up!
Okay, I suppose I am a little biased, but you are a very good writer. I’m proud of you!
Meg,
Thoughtful post. As a fellow Evangelical Christian who works in the environmental industry (water and sewer industry), I had several years of questioning in my early career of how my chosen profession agreed with my Christian beliefs. That is until I participated in and started leading studies in the Crown Ministries financial program. A major memory verse for this ministry is:
Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as being in control of everything. Riches and honor come from you alone, and you are the ruler of all mankind; Your hand controls power and might, and at your discretion men are made great and given strength.
I Chronicles 29:11-12 (TLB)
If everything in heaven and earth are His, then shouldn’t we be good stewards of it all. I think that is a resounding “YES”!
I believe the lack of attention provided to environmental issues has to do with the politicization of the environmental movement by an overwhelming naturalistic, non-Christian worldview. It is the same with many Christian led movements: equal rights, anti-discrimination, support of the poor, compassion, etc. Have these movements been stolen from us by the emotion-centered liberal left, or have we, as evangelical Christians, abdicated our leadership position by retreating to our “Holy Huddles”? I think it is both.
We are called to be good stewards of all of God’s creation and blessings since they all come from God – that includes our finances, the born and unborn, and His creation.
The related post provided above, “A Conservative Christian’s Response Toward the Environment” is another good read.
Thanks Meg. Well said. Very thoughtful and thought provoking. Now let’s make sure we’re doers of the word and not merely hearers only. I’m very proud of you.
Wow! I feel like you are writing down the very thoughts that I think but I cannot seem to organize. I am not nearly as graceful as communicating things like you can. This particular blog is wonderful… I plan to learn from it and try to make simple changes one by one. For example, today I decided to stop buying bottled water and invest in a washable Nalgene. Thanks for sharing!
Meg-
I agree with so much of what you said here. I find that it’s hard to convince anyone to care about the environment, Christian or otherwise. My religous and non-religious friends seem to be pretty aligned on their concerns (or lack thereof). I think it’s also a generational thing, and people in the younger generation are more open about everything than say, our parents generation. Most of it seems to come down to laziness.
I asked a friend why he didn’t recycle and he said, “I used to when I lived in New York, but once I moved down here I stopped. Tennessee doesn’t provide you with recycling bins. You have to buy them.”
Great Post Meg! I know, I know. I seriously need to begin recycling!
Well said Meg. I think you’ve done a much better job of articulating my position than I have. Thanks for writing this.
Bryan
Thanks for this, Megan! I was asked to guest post on this topic. If you’re interested, you can read it here.
Excellent post. Came here through a link. I can relate to everything you’ve stated and put similar thoughts here. http://www.randzig.com/2008/05/22/black-gold/
[…] I want to note an extremely eloquent post by Meg at Megaphone on Christians and the Environment. Well said […]
Megan, you write beautifully. I stumbled across your blog via Randy Elrod’s place and was drawn in by your thoughtful post(s).
I’m a television producer in Los Angeles really struggling to reconcile my profession with my faith these days and was impressed at how your thoughts and actions seem to spring so gracefully from your faith.
Without getting into the specifics, please know that your blog and your writing just helped me in a very key way and for that I thank you.
I hope you’ll keep this up — you never know how/when you’ll be Shanghaied into service as an “online angel.” (You might even have a positive impact on the pop-culture landscape!)
@jonathan:
Thanks you for continuing this discussion; we all have to work together to change old perceptions, I think. I’m grateful for your leadership. Keep it up!
Megan
@Scott H.:
Thanks for the encouragement! It’s exciting to enter into the global conversation that is taking place around the world via blogging! I’m glad that my words were helpful to you and I hope to “see” you often around here!
Best,
Megan
@Karen
I saw part of that Oprah episode too! It was convicting and challenging to be confronted with our waste. I must admit that I’ve been a much a part of that as anyone. But, little by little, I’m working to change that and grow in the integration of my Christian Worldview and life. Love and miss you too!
-Meg
I don’t know if singling out the Christians for not being Green is justified…I am a Baha’i. We believe in the independent investigation of the truth. Any other of the major religions are based around Clergy telling the congregation what to believe.
So, being disappointed that the believers of Christ are not being green is not their fault. It is the fault of the Clergy they listen too. And so it is will all clergy led cults. Jewish, Islamic, Christian…It cannot be totally the fault of the sheep, look to the leadership…
B.J.