It’s not easy being green

This post was inspired by a post from Troy DeShano on his blog, Strong Odors. Troy and I have been friends since K-5, and we married sisters so now we’re brothers. So, we’re pretty like-minded. He did a blog for Blog Action Day 2009 as part of a global social change event. I’m glad he did. What he had to say got me thinking. And it got me thinking so much that I felt the need to express some thoughts on the issue. The issue is…

Being Green.

I have always had a difficult time understanding the huge debates over environmentalism. They have almost always rubbed me the wrong way. I’d hear arguments on one side saying it doesn’t really matter how we treat the earth because it’s all going to be destroyed or restored by God one day, so what’s the point. And then I’d hear arguments from the other side that pretty much sounded like creation worship, as if we could actually “Save the Planet.” Like we are somehow going to reverse the laws of thermodynamics. I didn’t agree with either, but always had a hard time articulating what I did believe. Everyone I heard seemed to be reacting to the other side as if there was no other options. But meditating on Troy’s blog post helped clear it up for me. (Read it if you haven’t. And check out the great illustration he did. The rest of what I say will make much more sense if you do.)

I agree with Troy’s point that we should not be careless about taking care of the earth just because one day the earth as we know it will end. But I want to talk about the reasons why Christians think the way they do. I have been wondering why it is that so many people in the church lean toward radical environmentalism or toward utter carelessness. This is my diagnosis of the problem…

The problem is that we don’t believe Jesus is Savior AND Lord of ALL creation. We don’t have a good grasp on the good old-fashioned Gospel. We don’t understand how huge our debt is toward God, and we don’t understand the magnitude of God’s provision through Jesus Christ.  And because of this we don’t see His grace as amazing and Jesus as truly worthy of all worship and praise.

The one’s who treat the earth carelessly see Jesus as a Savior from this evil world and not much more. So they isolate themselves and throw rocks at the world from a distance. He is Savior, but not Lord.

And those who preach environmentalism as the gospel seem to think Jesus requires something of us, but He didn’t die to redeem and save us. The emphasis is on doing, and it actually is just a new twist on the same old legalism. It’s just a different list of “do’s” and “don’ts.” He is Lord maybe or a good example to follow, but not Savior. Save yourself. “Save the earth.” What I see coming from both sides is a lack of true love for people – God’s image-bearers and greatest creation. And so we sort of DO “…feed our kids cigarettes for breakfast.”

Not literally (I hope).

But figuratively.

And actually what we do is even worse…

We poison each other.

And I’m talking about the Church.

We, as followers of Christ, need to ask ourselves what it really means to “be Green.”

We chop up unborn babies in the womb. Statistics say that almost half the number of abortions are done by those claiming to be Protestant or Catholic. I know this is becoming somewhat of a theme in my blog, but abortion is a terrible evil!!! Think about it. Care about it. Do something about it. What if we are killing off the very ones who would find a cure for cancer or AIDS, or stop human trafficking, or provide thousands with clean water to drink? God said, “Be fruitful, and multiply.” Don’t tell me you care about saving the planet, when you are okay with murdering babies.

We exploit women – the crowning achievement of God’s creation. Creation was not completely good, until the woman was created. And we have turned her into an object to use. We abuse her dignity and worth for our own selfish gain. She could be your wife or your daughter. She is someone’s daughter. And somewhere there is a broken-hearted Dad. You care about the penguins and polar bears, and then you lust after that girl on the magazine rack or in your movies like she is less than an animal. Perhaps you believe you are less than an animal yourself.

We abuse and abandon children. Something like 80% of all guys in prison grew up without a dad. We treat children like they are disposable trash. We choose having a nice car over having children. Or we have children, and then let them raise themselves. Go ahead and pat yourself on the back for recycling your pop cans though. That should make up for it.

I believe it is more important to love people than trees. Human beings are made in God’s image. Human beings have souls.  Trees do not. It is extreme hypocrisy when people speak about saving the trees, but treat other human beings like trash. Now, I know the two are connected. When you don’t care for the earth, it hurts people. But how can anyone really be Green and say they care about the environment and God’s creation, when they don’t care about people first – the people they live right next to.

If you want to be Green, to be really and truly Green…

Believe in Jesus Christ not only as Savior, but also as Lord. Lord of all creation. And all includes people – your wife, your kids, your parents, your brothers and sisters…

Love Jesus as Lord and Savior. Then you can truly begin to love people. And if you love God and people, then you will love the rest of creation.

I don’t think it works the other way around, at least not in a joyful, true, and lasting way.

Being green is about believing that all life is created by God to give Him glory.

Most of the time we have it backwards.

We dream up theologies and doctrines that will make us feel more acceptable and feel better about our perversions.

We live for our glory.

We are born creation worshippers – self-worshippers…

When we should be God worshippers.

We’re so proud – myself included.

Listen to Jesus in Mark 8:34-38. And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?  For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Like Kermit says. “It’s not easy being Green…”

“But it’s what I want to be.”

Thank God for amazing grace.