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Throughout
the Bible, God calls us not just to be good stewards, but to love
and rejoice in the creation, as God does. Jesus loved the
natural world and went into the wilderness to grow closer to God,
as well as warning us against many of the actions that lead to
environmental devastation, particularly buying and hoarding too
many goods. God gave us clear directions on how to relate to
the Creation and to our fellow human beings in our use of resources.
As a culture in North America, we've overstepped those bounds
fairly regularly, and people and the earth are suffering as a
result. It is at the heart of our faith to repent – to
turn away from destructive behaviors, and to act humbly in ways,
which God has shown to us. Our devastation of the created
world and our injustice to one another in the way that we use
the earth is a clear place where our faith as Christians calls
us to take action. "Being green" is a secular way
of saying, live faithfully – with restraint, with concern
for justice, and with love, rather than exploitation and selfishness.
When we apply those principles to our use of natural resources
and to our economy, we can restore justice and abundance in the
earth. It does take a while! The grace of God is that you get
to feel the change to freedom and abundance in your own life very
quickly, even though redeeming the world as a whole is rather
a bigger project. One which requires a church – or, as environmentalists
say, a green team!
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