Serve God, Save the Planet by J. Matthew Sleeth

It's not often that one finds Environmentalists and Christians in the same settings. I know this because I've spent a lot of time in both groups. Stereotypically, with environmentalists, you'll find plenty of atheists, Buddhists, Pantheists, and even Unitarians. Christians are scarce.

Since I was a child, I have always had a natural inclination to be worried about chemicals and care for the environment. One of my earliest memories comes from doing childhood chores. I'd dust the house, clean the bathrooms or clean my room with a fear of getting chemicals on me while cleaning. I'll have to ask my mom, but I think at one point in time, I insisted on wearing a mask while cleaning...

The older I get and the more I learn, I realize that maybe these fears weren't completely irrational.
During college I became interested in a vegetarian diet after I learned about the meat industry. Then I learned a little more and became interested in organic and kosher processing. I learned about the benefits of Fair Trade. I learned about energy conservation, biofuel, the impact of plastic on our land and in our oceans, composting, filtering water...the list goes on and on and on...

It's overwhelming.

While I've developed a few good habits over the years, I still find myself discouraged when the people around me don't seem to care or aren't doing their "fair share". Or, I feel like I'm not doing enough, so what was the point of doing anything? I find myself wanting to give up on "going green" because it all just seems like too much work with little reward. Not to mention many Christians in my circle often could care less about the environment. So I'd question why I cared so much? I even considered Buddhism and Pantheism because I thought maybe they lined up with my beliefs more (they don't). So, back to Jesus I went and since then I've been on a never ending quest to unite my beliefs with my God-given natural instinct.

At Half Price Books the other day, I stumbled upon a book called Serve God, Save the Planet by J. Matthew Sleeth. Clearly, I was interested. So, I handed over the $6.95 and dove right into this little paperback. Sleeth and his family turned to Christianity when they realized this planet is in trouble and they started to look for inspiration. It turns out Sleeth explored a few options (like I did) and ended up finding his inspiration in the Bible. There is really no one who loves nature as much as God, after all, He created it... and he created it before he created man. (Whether you believe in God or not, I think we can all agree that certain things were here before humans).

Reading this book put my efforts into perspective. The bottom line is to care about God's creations more and man's creations less. Care about soil, trees and air more and care about big houses, SUVs and other status symbols less. The Bible is filled with lessons on personal simplicity, responsibility and stewardship. Sleeth explains these lessons and doesn't just relate them to Christianity, but shows you how and why these things are Christian values. I'm sitting here thumbing through the text I highlighted in this book and there are too many profound and convicting statements to share in a blog post. However, here are a few of my favorites:

~To move from thought to action, we must feel some discomfort with who we are. page 73

~One of the surests bits of evidence that God really exists and that the Bible is true is the repeated failure of humankind to get things right on its own. page 96

~The conflict most often cited among divorcing couples is money. But is the conflict money or unrestrained consumption? page 80

~The Bible instructs us to care for our bodies as if they were temples of God (1 Corinthians 1:19). That's the rationale behind avoiding gluttony and drunkenness. page 129

One comment on the last quote is that this is also the rationale behind eating healthy and wholesome foods. Ingesting junk and processed food is not how you treat your body like a temple. Nor is eating a chicken that came from a life a suffering. God created plants and some animals to nourish us, and not for us to abuse.

Reading this book left me feeling convicted and motivated to take action. It helped me to realize the direct implications that my decisions have on this world. For instance, buying Fair Trade directly impacts those in third world countries who provide the products. Supporting moral and just laws is better than buying products of unknown origin that may or may not use child labor, have unfair working conditions and other things that followers of Christ do not align with. The points Sleeth presents in his book allow you to see the direct benefits of caring for this world a little more and caring for consumerism a little less. I have a to-do list a mile long of things I want to change in my life. Some examples are, I want to... stop using a dryer to dry my clothes, compost, drive a car that runs on biofuel and many, many, more things...

While I can't change everything at once, I'm enjoying taking baby steps to make this world a bit of a better place. I'm also enjoying the added benefits of feeling closer to God as I get closer to His creation.

I don't want to overwhelm anyone with all the information presented in this book, but I highly recommend reading it. Also, visit BlessedEarth.org for more resources.

Blessed Earth is a biblically based educational nonprofit that inspires and equips Christians to become better stewards of the earth. Through outreach to churches, campuses, and other organizations, we build bridges that promote measurable environmental change and meaningful spiritual growth.

I want to lead a small group lesson with the Blessed Earth resources, so if you are interested in joining, let me know! If you are not in Cincinnati, maybe we can find a way to Skype you in!

Ironically, while writing this post, I came across this article on Twitter: From Relevant Magazine, Eating God's Way. It's definitely worth reading!

I'm sure there will be more to come from me on these topics...life really is all about the journey!