Photo by idea ablaze
So, we’re cleaning out and decluttering our stuff, and getting rid of 100 items this month. (Oh, and I need to get going on that!) But I really believe that our relationship with our stuff, and our view of creation care, goes beyond just what we use, and have, and keep in our homes.
I wanted to take the opportunity to share a little bit of my heart about this. It’s something I’ve been convicted of and been thinking about a lot over the past months/year.
The last time I tried to write about this subject, our stuff, I didn’t get much any response from people. I don’t know if I was just too negative, or too harsh in the way that I approached it, or if people just really like their stuff, so I’m going to try to articulate myself in a different way this time.
My reasoning behind going green, creation care, saving the environment, whatever you want to call it, is not because I am a tree-worshiper. I do believe that God created the world and that He reveals Himself to us through His creation, and calls us to be careful stewards of all that He has given us. But it is about more than that.
“Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40
For me, it is about loving people.
I believe, that as a Christian, I am called to love God, and love my neighbor, which I am learning basically means all people, as myself.
The thing is, we as human beings don’t exist on this earth in isolation. We are interconnected. Not in some new-age way, but literally – we are connected to the resources that we have, or don’t have, and use in our environments, and our use of these resources affects others who also have, or don’t have, and need the same resources.
Even as our world is growing and there are more people on earth today than ever, our world is also getting smaller. The choices that I make have an impact far beyond my family, my home, my neighborhood, my city, and even my country.
When Jesus tells us to love our neighbors He is not just talking about the people that live on either sides of our houses – our neighbors include people around this whole world. And the choices I make regarding my use of resources, and my stuff, has an affect on others, both nearby and far away.
My friend and I were recently talking about how Americans, our society in general, are all about becoming less and less responsible.
We don’t want to be responsible for keeping, storing, or maintaining things, so we have turned into a disposable and consumer society. We don’t want to be responsible for our finances, so we use, and over use, credit and get ourselves into trouble.
We like our stuff, and we don’t want to be responsible for the effects that our choices have on others so we consume to our heart’s content (or not really, because consuming will never really make us content, in fact it usually leads to more and more discontent) and ignore or turn a blind eye to issues like child and slave labor, pollution and deforestation of third world countries and dangerous working environment for people that make our stuff. As well as even broader issues of hunger and disease and poverty.
But we are responsible. We are responsible for the choices we make. And one day we will have to answer for the choices that we have made while living on this earth. Do our choices reflect that we love our neighbors as ourselves?
Love God, Love People
It sounds so simple, right? Yet it is so, so complex and indeed overwhelming at times. But this is what God has been teaching me and showing me. This is what He is stirring in my heart. And I hope that maybe by sharing, He will stir it in your heart as well.
As I write this I am humbled, because I definitely don’t get this right most of the time. But I am learning, and I am growing and I desire to be open to what God has and wants for me in this area of my life. And I just felt like He was nudging me to share some of that with you. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
He has shown you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8
Oh, Emily! I could not agree more!
“The thing is, we as human beings don’t exist on this earth in isolation. We are interconnected.”
I used to feel a little sheepish in Christian circles about my passion for natural, whole, green living until I read Jonathan Merritt’s Green Like God. He spends a lot of time dealing with this very thing – the things that are bad for God’s creation are bad for ALL of God’s creation – the glorious planet and all of its wonders along with the people He loves so tenderly.
Sister, I am with you in this. Thanks for saying it so clearly!
Thanks so much for your thoughts Megan!
Thing is, I really don’t feel like I speak very clearly about this at all, and I often feel like you say so eloquently on your blog exactly what I’m thinking, but can’t figure out how to say it right. 🙂
I just ordered Green Like God and can’t wait to read it!
Thank you for this, what you said resonates deeply with me and encourages me to keep working on paring down the amount of stuff we accumulate. Thank you for articulating what I feel but have not been able to express succinctly!
Thank you for sharing this. I’m struggling with this too. I have recently become more “green,” and I’m getting resistance from family and friends. I am not a “tree worshiper” either,and I had the misconception for a long time that you couldn’t be “green” and a Christian at the same time. I do not believe that I can “save” the Earth, only God can do that. I still value human life far above animals, etc. However, I also believe that we should be good stewards of our earth and our finances. Again, thank you for sharing.
You are correct, Emily! To me, it just makes sense. It’s the wise thing to do. It seems so simple – so true. Our family is far from having it all together and still have a long way to go, but we’re on a journey and doing our best to love God, love others and love (and take care of) this beautiful Earth He created and blessed us with. I believe if people approached the transformation as a “journey”, they wouldn’t be so overwhelmed and gradually it would “just make sense” to them too. 🙂
I’ve never thought of it that way, with what we do affecting those around us. We are working on being better stewards with what God’s given us and with his “art” (Creation). I know the more we do the more friends and family will notice and wonder if we’ve turned into hippies! I want to read Green Like God so that I can share with loved ones about this way of life. Thanks for shareing!
Thanks for sharing this! As someone else commented, thanks for putting into words so clearly how I feel, too!
What a great post. I found you through SortaCrunchy. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Makes complete sense to me!
Well-said, Emily!
Thanks for this article! I sometimes get really upset at being labeled as an “earth worshiper” just because my worship of God includes caring for creation. It just doesn’t make sense–if my parents had given me a house to live in rent-free, fully stocked with groceries and utilities, and I was carefully maintaining the house and eating only as much as I needed and turning off faucets and lights when not in use…would anyone say that meant I loved my house INSTEAD OF my parents???
Even worse is the idea that caring about the environment automatically means I must believe that human beings are some kind of cancer on the earth and nobody should have babies. No, the earth is meant to have people on it! While I do think it’s wise to have SOME caution about our total numbers–because there must be an upper limit on how many people can survive at once–I don’t at all mind the idea of sharing resources with lots of people, using less myself so that others can have what they need. In fact, I’ve found that living in more crowded circumstances has helped me feel happier with less.
You wrote:
Americans, our society in general, are all about becoming less and less responsible. We don’t want to be responsible for keeping, storing, or maintaining things, so we have turned into a disposable and consumer society.
I agree, in part, but there’s a strange undercurrent in the past decade or so: At the same time as many things have become more disposable, the majority of Americans have taken on responsibility for maintaining and carrying with them at all times something that used to be routinely available as a public convenience: the telephone. The trend has launched to make drinking water work the same way: Instead of going from disposable bottled water to drinking from public fountains, people are being encouraged to maintain durable, personal water bottles. (I realize people need to carry water when hiking in wilderness, etc.–I’m thinking about drinking water for everyday city/suburban life.) Americans don’t want to be responsible for themselves, but they’d rather be responsible for something unnecessary than use a PUBLIC version; there’s an increasing stigma to public anything these days. It’s a Tastes Like Somebody Loves You issue, but I haven’t found the perfect advertising slogan to title an article about it, yet….
Thanks so much for your thoughts ‘Becca. I really like your analogy of living in your parents house – good stuff!
thanks for sharing your heart behind your green lifestyle! i’ve really enjoyed the tips i get from you, but as we’re expecting our first child and trying to live out the things you’re talking about here, i’m wanting to take more baby steps toward green living! we’ll see what the future of motherhood holds in these things!
Thanks Amber! Congratulations on your first baby! Becoming a mom is really what kicked off this journey for me and my family!
I definitely agree with you on this one. It is so nice to see a fellow Christian blogger who openly admits that one can love God, one’s neighbor AND the God’s creation. I pinned this on my Social Justice for Jesus Pinterest board. I hope many others read this and are moved by it. Also, great tip about the castille soap! I also re-use the Method dispenser from Target but I think I am using WAY too much soap according to your recipe.
Thanks so much for your kind words and for sharing this post Victoria!