Thursday, August 14, 2008

What on earth is worth saving?

When my mother in law found out how sick her husband was she said, "We all have to go that way one day." Later, when she heard the official diagnosis, she said, "We all have to leave here with something."

The Bible says it like this, "Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all have sinned..." Romans 5:12

We all have to go that way one day. We live in a dying world.

I've had a hard time jumping on the "Green" bandwagon. I don't necessarily believe our climate is changing. And if it is, I don't believe our solutions will help the problem.

How many plastic water bottles do I need to recycle in order to make it worthwhile to have a huge plastic trash bin for recyclables, along with a gas guzzling truck to come empty it weekly? Beyond that, what does it do to the environment when we expend energy returning those bottles to usable form?

I do recycle, and I aim to be a good steward of the resources God has provided. But, the truth is, global warming or no, any efforts to save our planet are futile. The Bible says "Heaven and earth will pass away..." Matthew 24:35

We live in a world where people eat animals. Animals eat each other. Children die of hunger. Nations fight wars. Mother nature kills and destroys. Daily, our bodies decay. Can someone tell me what on earth is worth saving? That is, what on earth is worth saving, other than souls?

As Christians, we can tell a lost world that although the planet is dying, one day there will be "a new heaven and a new earth..." Revelation 21:1

A place where, "The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them." Isaiah 11:6

I spend very little time worrying about this planet because Jesus has prepared a place for me in glory. I'll let BeBe and CeCe tell you about it.



I'm no Bible scholar and I can't explain Revelations, but I think John P. Kee explains the plan quite nicely in his song, Any Day.

Any day the Lord shall come to carry me home.
After the dead in Christ shall rise,
We who remain and are still alive
Shall be caught up to meet Him in the air.

He's coming like a thief in the night one day.
He's coming just to carry His children away.
Caught up
We shall be caught up
We shall be caught up to meet him in the air.



"Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men." Romans 5:19

"'Do not let your hearts be troubled. You trust in God; trust also in Me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may also be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.'

Thomas said to him, 'Lord we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?' Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" John 14:1-6 (emphasis mine)

Going "green" won't save this planet. Although YouTube just might be worth saving.

4 comments:

Elspeth said...

My thoughts pretty much line up with yours on this issue.

And I have always loved that song by BeBe and CeCe. YouTube is pretty great, huh?

Jo said...

Thank you Carletta! Finally someone says something reasonable about the whole "green" issue. I've been recycling for years, and reuse out of frugalness, but have not been able to swallow the message that is being shoved down our throats. There are all sorts of illogical things being done. I wonder how many cloth bags are lining the pantries & backs of closets of Americans today while they still bring home their groceries in plastic or paper. At work, we've installed the automatic paper towel dispensers in order to reduce the amount of paper we use. But what about the batteries? Something that did not require any (non-human) energy now requires batteries. Same thing for the famous energy saving lights. They actually contain mercury and must be properly disposed of. How many Americans even realize that? And of those who do, who finds the "mercury disposal center" and properly disposes rather than chunking it in the trash? And how many cities don't actually properly dispose of the mercury they receive at that disposal center?

It seems to me that greenies want to berate us for our rampant consumerism, while offering the solution to global warming by selling us "the right" products.

groovsmyth said...

Amen to all that's been said.
What really gets me about the Al Gore crowd is the notion of ecological "footprint" and the formulaic contortions some go through to rationalize driving their vanity vehicles. If someone is truly concerned with being a good steward of the blessings God has provided, one doesn't come up with a balance sheet like it was a calorie counting diet to *trade-off* units of one's damage to earth.

Amy said...

Very interesting post! I must confess I am a bit of an anti-consumerist hippie, but do not believe such measures can save a dying world by any measures. Instead, I'm believe in the "live simply so others may simply live" idea. A climate change for our attitudes--bring about compassion & care for neighbors, rather than ending so-called "global warming" or cooling or whatever the powers that be are touting now. :P Tending my own little garden, purchasing only the bare minimum of clothing needed, riding our awesome public transit instead of driving, and reusing glass containers & other odds & ends, for kitchen storage needs and craft projects, instead of simply throwing them in the recycling bin can all save money, so my family can give more to charity and place more in savings as well. :o)