Stewards of the Earth

(copied from my 360.yahoo.com blog dated 10/10/07)


Just look at that picture. The Blue Planet. It is so vast and beautiful. And I feel so tiny and helpless in comparison.

I started a new job last October. After staying home with the kids for a blessed two years, I now sit in rush hour traffic. Heading north in the morning is not too bad. But it sickens me to look across the median and see the massive volume of cars headed south towards downtown. Three lanes wide, stop and go for probably 5 miles. I wonder, "How can I not participate in this gross consumption of natural resources, pollution of a beautiful city, etc. and still get to my new job?"

The more I think about this the more overwhelmed I become. I am, try to be, a Green Christian. There doesn't seem to be too many of us around. Most of my close friends feel similar to the way I do. I strongly believe that the earth is not here to consume but to protect and care for and then to enjoy.

Genesis 2:15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

Psalm 21:1 The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

Deuteronomy 33:13-16 May the LORD bless his land with the precious dew from heaven above and with the deep waters that lie below; with the best the sun brings forth and the finest the moon can yield; with the choicest gifts of the ancient mountains and the fruitfulness of the everlasting hills; with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness

Watching a bunch of metal boxes on rubber wheels blow fumes down a long concrete stretch of land that used to be wooded with huge, beautiful live oak trees and teeming with wildlife is not enjoyable and it makes me sad.

My dilemma - I am called to be a part of this world. I am called into relationship with others and to be salt and light to the world. So, my answer to the question, "How do I not participate in the gross consumption of natural resources?" is not to run to the mountains and be a hermit - albeit tempting. I suppose the answer comes to me in small steps like it did today. I will fight urban sprawl by always living in the inner city. I will do what I can to lobby for construction regulations that limit the destruction and use of natural resources and encourage the use of renewable resources. I will spend my money and my time living out and supporting the many ways a person can do their part for stewardship.

Give me feedback on ways that you have decided to be a good steward of the earth