Uh-oh. I'm going to share another of my major pet peeves. (Be ye forewarned.)
This week we'll see another "Earth Day."
Is Earth Day my pet peeve? Uh, no.
Rather, this is: Long ago while teaching Sunday School in Nevada, one of my six-year-old little guys told me that his mom said Earth Day is bad because that's when people worship the Earth and we should worship only God. So we should ignore that day.
Oh. My. Goodness.
That's exactly the kind of thinking inside a tiny, tiny box which makes us Christians appear like narrow-minded idiots. Where, for goodness sake, is the balance?
I know, I know. Calm down, right? But it's just that I've heard the same thing from other Christians and I keep hearing them scoff at the whole global warming thing, as well. Now, do I believe in all the global warming hype? No, but I do believe parts are valid concerns. And I certainly believe we've done a lousy job of caring for this planet God gave us.
And I continue to ask, doesn't the Bible say , "The Earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof?" Didn't God tell Adam and Eve to manage and care for the land He'd given them? Hasn't God shown an enormous amount of creativity and splendor in all the amazing species of animals and plants He's given us, as well as all the breath-taking, varied terrain? Didn't He give us all things to enjoy?
Yes and yes and yes and yes.
So for me, may all my days be Earth Days. I hope I'll continue to learn how to leave this Earth a better place than I found it. I want to discover more efficient ways of living here and I hope to learn how to create less garbage, use fewer toxins and leave the soil around me richer (not poorer). May I plant more trees and flowers to help clean the air, may I grow some of my own food and may I teach others by example.
And most of all, may I treat this planet with the respect and gut-level appreciation which should accompany any gift from God, the One who cared so much for us that He spoke this incredible place into existence so very long ago.
******
This week we'll see another "Earth Day."
Is Earth Day my pet peeve? Uh, no.
Rather, this is: Long ago while teaching Sunday School in Nevada, one of my six-year-old little guys told me that his mom said Earth Day is bad because that's when people worship the Earth and we should worship only God. So we should ignore that day.
Oh. My. Goodness.
That's exactly the kind of thinking inside a tiny, tiny box which makes us Christians appear like narrow-minded idiots. Where, for goodness sake, is the balance?
I know, I know. Calm down, right? But it's just that I've heard the same thing from other Christians and I keep hearing them scoff at the whole global warming thing, as well. Now, do I believe in all the global warming hype? No, but I do believe parts are valid concerns. And I certainly believe we've done a lousy job of caring for this planet God gave us.
And I continue to ask, doesn't the Bible say , "The Earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof?" Didn't God tell Adam and Eve to manage and care for the land He'd given them? Hasn't God shown an enormous amount of creativity and splendor in all the amazing species of animals and plants He's given us, as well as all the breath-taking, varied terrain? Didn't He give us all things to enjoy?
Yes and yes and yes and yes.
So for me, may all my days be Earth Days. I hope I'll continue to learn how to leave this Earth a better place than I found it. I want to discover more efficient ways of living here and I hope to learn how to create less garbage, use fewer toxins and leave the soil around me richer (not poorer). May I plant more trees and flowers to help clean the air, may I grow some of my own food and may I teach others by example.
And most of all, may I treat this planet with the respect and gut-level appreciation which should accompany any gift from God, the One who cared so much for us that He spoke this incredible place into existence so very long ago.
******
"The Earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof; the world and those who dwell therein."
"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth."
******
As usual - I concur!
ReplyDeleteI agree, Debra! That kind of thinking is religion rather than relationship.
ReplyDeleteGooooooooooooooo, DEBRA!
ReplyDelete(that was a cheer, by the way)
I know exactly what you mean! It drives me nuts when I hear people talk like that. Francis and Edith talked a lot about the environment and pollution back in the 1960s and 1970s. Francis Schaeffer even wrote an entire book about it.
ReplyDeleteMy son-in-law had a PhD (in statistics) and he's often said we Christians are our own worst enemy by the way we react to what is Truth in Science.