I don’t want to have to deal with climate change! I feel hopeless and powerless when I see pictures of polar bears stranded on ice, or think about the rising ocean temperatures and sea levels that we know will eventually submerge an entire nation, or when I visit a rapidly disappearing glacier high up in the Bolivian Andes and learn about the effect on the people who depend on it for their water.But after a long time of hoping global warming would go away (a.k.a. being in denial),I’ve come to terms with the need to make some changes in my lifestyle. A lot of them are cosmetic: compact fluorescent light bulbs, alternative energy sources, less driving. They’re becoming good habits that I really like.
But there’s a deeper change that I really struggle with, and that is the need to turn away from the individualism and materialism of our market-driven society. I need another kind of change—a paraphrase of an old Slave Song: “Lord, I want to be green (and Christian) in my heart.” And that means a deep spiritual change leading to voluntary simplicity, real community, and the genuine abundance of “enough”—which is, after all the abundant life that God offers us.
That kind of change isn’t easy in a world where we hear the story “more is better” 24/7. But we have God’s promise of shalom, and we have hope that calls us to committed and active engagement with the “principalities and powers” and compassionate relationship with all of creation.
It may not be quite as easy bein’ green on the inside, but “it’s beautiful and it’s what I want to be.”
Wishing you traveling mercies and many glimpses of redemption on your journey with Jesus.
For a really good article which says this so much better than I can, check out Peter Sawtell's recent article "Only a symptom" in Eco-Justice Notes.
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