If you haven’t gotten the memo…
It is really “hip” to be “green.” To be “green,” for the purposes of this blog entry, is to be environmentally sound or beneficial. There are a million ways that this very fashionable word can be defined, so I want to make sure that I limit the definition. We also need to do that with our revered term “Siesta.” Mom, can you do that? I know you’re hurting for things to do. Now back to the point. Being green is hip. So hip, in fact, that organic produce and spaceship looking automobiles have become the next best thing since white high-top Reeboks and leg-warmers in the 80’s.
These days I never feel cooler than when I walk into “Whole Foods” with my reusable bag made from 80% post-consumer waste. My fellow organic shoppers and I gaze in dismay as “the others” walk out of the store with several brown paper bags that they will undoubtedly throw away after just one use. Gasp.
And as I make my way out of Whole Foods, I sneak away quickly so that none of the other eco-friendly shoppers can see me get into my big SUV with a Texas license plate. I have to be careful exiting the parking-lot, so as not to run over their three-foot scooters. I then make my way back to my apartment, and I sense freedom. I am sure that none of them can see me anymore. I approach my front door, set down my 80% post-consumer waste bag, and I do the following things: 1) I flip on almost every light switch in the house. 2) I drink a bottled water to refresh me from my hard work. 3) I crank up the air-conditioner full-blast. 4) I throw the bottled water in the trash, without even thinking about recycling. 5) I throw away all of the little plastic bags that the fresh produce comes in because I just want the mess out of the kitchen. 6) I clean up everything with paper towels. The really thick kind (only Viva brand). 7) I take a second shower for the day, because I feel gross. 8) I throw a load of two towels in the washing machine and each towel has only been used once.
The dead-honest truth is that after I get my approval-fill for the day at the local Whole Foods, I go right back to my over-consumptive ways. I can only think of one word for this: HYPOCRISY. Big time. Though my husband does not know about my self-righteous and childish behavior at Whole-Foods, he told me a few weeks ago, semi-lovingly, that my answer to most everything around the house is: “just throw it away.” Ouch. That hurts. And the worst thing about it is, it’s true.
Well, the Lord has really been confronting me not only about my wastefulness but also my apathy about taking care of the world I live in. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised that when I walked into church on Sunday morning the title of the sermon was “God is Green.” I will say honestly that the title “God is Green” sort of creeps me out. There is something about this blanket statement “God is Green” that I don’t feel comfortable with. I don’t really want to equate anything with the person of God that can be interpreted as a peppy political agenda. It seems like an easy way to claim and market that God is on board with our current passion. I thought to myself, “Perhaps my semantic disagreement with the sermon title can help me be cynical enough not to receive this holy chastening I am about to get…I mean, good grief, my husband has already left me limp.” The problem is that not liking the sermon title did not rid me of the responsibility to listen to the pastor’s words. One thing I always want to be willing to do is to approach the Bible with an open and willing heart, ready to change any actions that are incongruent with what the text says. And I’ve got to admit, this preacher kept his finger in the biblical text, and presented a clear and timely word for Christians to be better and more informed stewards of the earth. Well, conviction came, even in spite of a catchy sermon title. I even went home that Sunday and did some more research about what the Bible says about the relationship between the people of God and the environment.
Here are my top three reasons for wanting to get more informed about how I can do my part. I know there are a million reasons, but these are simply the ones that are most significant to me:
1. Theologically, taking care of the earth is significant because creation is one of the ways that God reveals himself to mankind. The preacher on Sunday equated damaging or destroying the earth to ripping a page of the Bible. His point is this: God reveals himself in creation (Psalm 19), so when a person is a poor steward or caretaker of the earth, he or she suppresses God’s revelation in creation. I thought this was an interesting comparison. Obviously, God’s general revelation in creation is not salvific, so it is not exactly the same as tearing a page out of Scripture, but he certainly has a point. Since people look at the wonders of the earth and often see the beauty of God, not taking care of it is simply foolish. Since God’s revelation through the creation is a sort of apologetic to all of humankind, we need to be careful not to suppress its witness.
2. In the creation account in Genesis, God gives man dominion over the earth. He says, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them rule over…all the earth, and over every creeping thing” (1:26). He then takes Adam into the garden “to cultivate it and to keep it” (2:15). Some have interpreted this sort of dominion language as some sort of beastly mastery over the earth. This is a blatant misinterpretation of the text. As the preacher said on Sunday, “We do not beat the earth into submission.” As Philip Hughes says, “God, in short, gave man the world to master, but to master to the glory of the Creator, by whom man himself, to be truly human, must first be mastered” (Philip Hughes, The True Image: The Origin and Destiny of Man in Christ). The earth remains God’s earth, and we are simply stewards over it. A very important part of our function as human beings then is to carefully rule over the earth as the Lord God would see fit. Stewardship in general is a very significant theme throughout Scripture, especially in the gospels, and should be applied wholistically to each of our lives (see Matthew 25).
3. Christians have been known to argue that since the earth is just going to burn up in the end-times, our efforts to save it are futile. This is not only a very negative application of eschatology, but it is a good example of how our theology affects our behavior. My very favorite professor Dr. Douglas J. Moo has briefly discussed this sort of attitude in an article called “Nature in the New Creation: New Testament Eschatology and the Environment” that was published in Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 49 (2006) 449-88. Dr. Moo is in my humble opinion in the very top tier of New Testament evangelical scholars. His point here is that apathetically thinking “the earth is just going to burn up anyway” flies in the face of the “biblical mandate for Christians to be involved in meeting the needs of the world in which we now life”. As Dr. Moo remarks, “I may believe that the body I now have is destined for radical transformation; but I am not for that reason unconcerned about what I eat or how much I exercise…To be sure, our efforts must always be tempered by the realization that it is finally God himself, in the future act of sovereign power, who will transform creation. And we encounter here the positive side of a robust eschatology. Christians must avoid the humanistic ‘Green utopianism’ that characterizes much of the environmental movement. We will not by our own efforts end the ‘groaning’ of the earth. But this realism about our ultimate success should not deter our enthusiasm to be involved in working toward those ends that God will finally secure through his own sovereign intervention.”
So there they are, the top three arguments that beckon me to change my ways, even if it is inconvenient. In case you haven’t noticed, this blog is RANDOM. In many ways, this blog is a reflection of what it is like sitting at the Moore-Jones-Fitzpatrick family dinner table. RANDOM. The conversation goes from the intense to the absurd, the devastating to the triumphant, and the controversial to the mundane, all in record time. Oh and if you get this memo before we run onto the next random subject… don’t just jump on the eco-friendly bandwagon because it’s cool or trendy, but please don’t rebelliously avoid it for the very same reasons. At the end of the day, do it because as Christians we should be at the forefront of those who care for God’s earth. Perhaps acting as good stewards and taking excellent care of this earth for God in the here and now will somehow prepare us for a time when we will reign along with God in the new creation (see Revelation 5:10; 20:6; 22:5). So, if you are like me, a complete dummy when it comes to eco-friendly consumption, let’s take it upon ourselves to learn a little more about caring for God’s earth. I think I’ll start by trying to figure out where the closest recycling center is.
thanks Melissa, for giving some theological basis for going green. as a 36 year old wife and mother of 4 children, not so young and not old either, i have wrestled with how far should i go in this effort. your research and counsel have gone a long way to clarifying things for me. i am convicted to do my part now!
I have been feeling this same conviction for some time now. It takes very little extra effort for me to throw my aluminum cans into the recycling bin instead of the trash. It takes very little extra effort for me to fill my reusable bottle with water instead of grabbing another plastic bottle from the fridge. So why don’t I do it more? Because I’m lazy. I have had to make a conscious effort NOT to be lazy. I don’t expect God to be lazy (certainly not when I’m wanting Him to get busy answering my prayers), so why do I think that its okay with Him if I’m lazy?
And now I’m going to dig that last aluminum can out of the garbage and put it in the recycling bin.
O.K., I’m a tad bit convicted myself after reading your comments. I do, however feel good about recycling my water bottles rather than tossing them. I guess every little bit helps. As I read your blog I just couldn’t help humming Kermit the Frog’s “It ain’t easy to be green.”
I want to be you when I grow up. 🙂
I really feel smarter having read this post. Why can’t the eco-activists be as reasonable?
Ok so like I read this and agree with Melissa, but do have to ask… When did she get married? I guess I have been out of it for a while.
Karen, Central,SC
Melissa,
Your comments about “Going Green” really convicted me. But they also brought confirmation, as I have been thinking alot lately about my responsibility to God’s creation. Not to mention, my responsibility as a mother to provide healthy meals for my family and a healthy atmosphere in our home.
I’ve been watching “John & Kate Plus Eight” alot lately. (I love the show!!) Her organization is inspiring to me and she only feeds her family orgnaic food. God Bless!
Great job Melissa!!! I am frequently frustrated with the Christian attitude of “God made us stewards of the earth and gave us dominion over animals therefore we can use and abuse both as we see fit” I think God is ashamed at how we carelessly use the wonders he has bestowed upon us and how equally carelessly we treat the beautiful creatures along with their habitats He has entrusted to our care. We need to intelligently and compassionately care for all God has given us human, animal and earthly.
I am now off my soap box. Blessings Siestas
Amen. We don’t water or fertilize our grass. My husband, God bless him, mows around the black-eyed susans and the milk weed for the Monarch butterflies. But in so many other ways I need to be more responsible. Thanks for the post.
This is something I struggle with – I believe there is a balance and that it CAN be taken too far. Anyone else think that way?
If you go to the site “fightpp.org” you will find a list of companies that donate regularly to Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of abortion in the nation. You will find “Whole Foods” smack dab in the middle of the list. Please, please please for the sake of the unborn and for the millions of women who are held in bondage by the shame and guilt of abortion, please be careful who we may be unintentionally funding. Chances are, if everyone is doing it, that may be a sign that we shouldn’t be caught up in the frenzy. We can go green without checking our brains at the door.
Being “green” has nothing to do with Christianity. Maybe it has to do with being a good citizen of earth, but NOTHING to do with Christianity.
Christ crucified. That’s what we should hear from the pulpit.
Recycle. That’s what we should hear from advocacy groups.
I hate it when the two get confused.
I’ve actually tried “green”…wasn’t so much aware that God is green though…lol. I’m single and live alone, so for about three months I had about four or five bags in which I placed different plastics (plastics by number), and paper from all my school papers gone bad…and so on. It was too much, because in those bags, I had one #3 plastic, 1 #5 plastic, 1 soda can, and while my paper mounted up, I had to give in and throw it ALL away. They just made my house less of a beautiful creation. 😉 I do however only have one small light burning in my chandelier, and I utilize those CFL light bulbs which happen to be extremely hazardous to the health of every human and animal in my house if broken, and which poison landfills if not disposed of properly, but they are supposed to be green, and they save me “green,”. I will also be installing bamboo flooring throughout my house soon. Green is always lurking at the back of my mind, but it’s a bit difficult to execute at times.
“but please don’t rebelliously avoid it for the very same reasons”
You totally got me there. I hate “trendy”, which is why I have rolled my eyes till they were practically stuck at all the “green” talk… but you made some really great Biblical points which made me take pause.
Thanks girl…
I too have explored the issue of stewardship, specifically as it relates to animal welfare. A few years ago I rescued a severely neglected and emaciated dog who’d been abandoned. As an animal lover I was committed to rehabilitating her. But as a wife, mother and servant of God (whose husband is in full time ministry), I needed to know if this was an appropriate investment of my time and resources, when there are people in need; does it matter in view of eternity? In short, God gave me clarity and peace to proceed, and Prov. 12:10: “A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal.â€
I absolutely believe that as followers of Christ we are to be good stewards of the planet God created for us to live on. Conservation is absolutely essential for the human race. However, I have a hard time with mainstream media shoving the gospel of green down my throat every time I turn around. The absurdity that we as a human race can save ourselves from absolutely anything is the biggest lie we’ve ever swallowed hook, line, and sinker. It takes the focus off our need for a Savior and makes us believe we can save ourselves. It’s simply not true. Not for the earth. Not in my relationships. Nothing. And I think Satan gets a big kick out of how distracted we all are when we stop focusing on God’s true love…His people. We’re supposed to be preparing His Bride for Heaven’s sake!!! There are a lot of passionate people out there worshiping the creation instead of the Creator. Reuse. Recycle. Only Christ can redeem.
Great word Melissa! Thank you for your honesty and for being as real as your mom! Your post was a tremendous blessing!
I am a huge advocate of recycling and conserving energy in every way I possibly can but there are limits ~ I simply will not live without my air conditioning and I do not think appliances we need for our hair should count against us 🙂
On a serious note, I am forwarding this post to my pastor and church administrator as my church currently does not recycle. Your comments and scriptural wisdom are excellent! Thank you!
May God continue to bless you and your family in all that you do!
Thanks Melissa-
Excellent post, solid theology & very practical application.
If I think of “green” in terms of being a good steward of what God has entrusted to us my motivation changes. It can be our spiritual act of worship.
I recently started recyclying the zillion water bottles I use to throw away. It began as a project with my grandson so that he could have his own money. I just took my first batch of water bottles recycling and received $10.25 with items I formerly without thinking threw away. Who da thunk it?
Green Blessings,
Maddie
Melissa, thank you for providing this healthy debating ground. I love the fact you are unafraid to tackle difficult subjects in an openly public forum!!
So, now.. In my humble opinion, stewardship of the earth is an absolute: this fertile ground, this very earth that we hold within our meager fists, should be tended to and cared for as the most precious gift for our survival. We should absolutely treat it with the reverence and respect that the Patriarchs of our faith have clearly demonstrated.
This rumination behind recycling and “social greening” of late just sounds as our usual “too little, too late” way to save a world-wide territory that’s already been hopelessly tainted by our own – equally tainted – hands: all in the name of fuzzy comfort and prosperity, of course.
As an example, the so-called green alternative to gasoline, biofuel, can be all well and good for the individual farmer who grows, reaps, sifts and distills from his/her own grains, but it’s an entire different story when it involves millions of people in the perennially underdeveloped countries that are now robbed of the grains for their own sustainment and basic livelihood — all, again, in the name of comfort and prosperity of the richer, cushy nations.
My heart breaks into pieces of tears reading of hundreds of thousands of Haitians and Indians unable to afford to buy grains (rice! wheat! corn!) to feed their children and families, because those crops are now being harvested for the benefit of “green” biofuel in the “better” nations.
The article I attach is simply an isolated example:
http://www.nysun.com/foreign/haitis-poor-resort-to-eating-dirt-cookies/70428/
Sombering.
maria cristina
AJ…I LOVE that!!!! Everybody around here thinks I’m crazy and weird when I say the napkins and paper towels STINK!!!!! No Siesta you are not alone. LOL
Want to say a PRAISE to God…we found out yesterday and KAYE (BFF) will be able to attend the Fiesta. Thank you girls for all your prayers, God has heard and looked on us with favor!!! Bless Him!!!
THANK YOU for explaining the Biblical basis for “going green”. I too have avoided it, and thought it somewhat ridiculous, but have not been lost to the fact that it is very “hip” now and that I need to understand it. Now I will look forward to learning more. LOVE reading your blog entries – I’m a huge fan of cooking also!
I, too, love this post! I’ve done “energy saving” things for years, turned off lights & water, recycled cans, bottles and paper, but since it’s become a political agenda I oppose the hype! I love the idea of taking my own bags to the store, but they’re usually touting some “agenda” and I don’t want to advertise for that sort of thing. Maybe we need some “Siesta” reusable bags! I would gladly take them everywhere I go!! (As long as they didn’t refer to “green” anything–maybe “Saving God’s Earth”!!) and then we could give the proceeds to charity. (That just came to mind as I was typing!)
Thanks for sharing, Melissa! I do love hearing from you and all your fun stories. You really make me think–and use a dictionary. I’m keeping a journal of words I have to look up and try to work on using them.
Enjoy your weekend!
Blessings,
Bobbie
Melissa, Thanks for your comments on such a relevant and timely topic. Many of the comments I read echo the fact that as Christians we do not like to be “trendy,” since trendy strikes a chord of cheepening our experience and relationship with Christ. I, too, can understand the urge to rebel against popular cultural trends – even to the extent of purposefully doing the opposite things. Yet, if all of the sudden Christianity itself became all the rage, would we then abandon it because the media took hold of it and began touting all of the wonder Christ affords? (I realize the extremity of this statement, I’m simply propsing a thought.)
With the idea of being a good steward of the earth, the women with experience from developing nations and other people groups who have posted bring a relevant perspective to this debate. Understanding that the wealth of resources found in the US is not shared by our brothers and sisters aournd the world, that perspective in and of itself causes me to be more thoughtful of how I use precious resources. It’s a “living beyond me” thinking that supports the activities of being wise with our resources.
Take the political and social stigmas away from the issue at hand, and see the simple act of recycling a plastic bottle or walking across the parking lot intsead of driving as a deliberate act of conserving so that others may have more.
Melissa, thank you for your thought provoking blog. I’ve had many discussions with friends on both sides of the issue. You poignant words resonate with me.
Marlo, Indiana
Go Melissa!! I think the next generation is getting this message…thankfully. My sweet 11 year old daughter and her little church friends have their “green” composte bags, they recycle and even spend some spare time picking up trash in the community! We’re still working on re-using the towels:) Better start now with my last hope…Cosette (age 2).
Thanks, Melissa. Loved this. Saw myself in your Whole Foods experience … have the same reusable bag and am guilty of instantly throwing away my produce bags too. Sigh.
We live in the near Texas boonies … well not quite, population barely over 4,000. I’m not even sure if we have a recycling center, but am going to find out!! What an inspiration.
Thank you! 😉
GREAT post! I have been convicted lately, too…it actually started when I went to see WallE, and was disgusted by the piles of trash…towers of trash…everywhere. I’ve written off recycling most things (besides cans and bottles) because we have no easy recycling where I live. I realized, though, that we could take a monthly trip to a recycling center when we’re doing our errands in a nearby town…and that helps. Last week, I threw out 3 cans of trash for our family…this week, I have filled up half a can. Now that’s eye opening.
Thanks for the theology, Melissa – I really appreciate it!
Oh, and one thing I HAVE done for years is I bought a bunch of little white towels like they sell in the automotive section of Costco (or the cheap white bar towels at Walmart), and use them instead of paper towels. I keep a drawerful of them in the kitchen, and use them for napkins, instead of the paper ones. It does add an extra load or so of laundry every week, but it has saved THOUSANDS of rolls of paper towels since we started doing this 13 years ago.
Susan from Yosemite
Loved this!
I thought about my small produce bags just yesterday from Whole Foods. Do people actually put their produce right onto the belt? I can see the lemons and avocados rolling all over the place…
Whatever it takes, siesta! I live in a super green community that desperately needs to know GOD!
A friend of mine sent me over here, I suppose, because I am rather green. Let’s just go with more green than average, or as I like to say, granola working on my crunch.
Anyway, what I really want to say, is if you (or your readers are starting to change your daily consumptive habits, start small. If you set smaller, achievable goals, you will be more likely to stick with it and continue to add more change. Maybe today you pledge to take a 5 minute shower instead of 10, or you walk to the corner store for a paper instead of drive, or you turn lights out in rooms you are not in or turn the air conditioner to 75 instead of 70. Tomorrow or next week, you tackle another task.
There are a lot of “green” blogs out there, too.
Good luck! 🙂
Please don’t let the religion of being “green” infect Christianity.
I agree we should always be good stewards of everything God has given us, the earth included. But do Christians really need one more thing to feel guilty about? It is a little bit scary to me how vulnerable Christians are to sucking up what the unsaved world is preaching at us.
I think Satan would love it if we became passionate about conservation and forgot to be passionate about things that really matter, like sin and grace and the gospel.
Thanks for explaining a balanced presentation of caring for the environment, Melissa. I think one of the things we Christians struggle with is a godly application of the warning from Romans 1:25 which says “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised.” Perhaps in our efforts to avoid being those who are lumped into the category of worshiping and serving *created* things instead of the *Creator* we go too far to the opposite end of the continuum. You are so right that there *is* a godly way of walking out this thing, this stewardship, this responsibility. Thank you.
Heidi in Cool, CA
We try to do everything we can where we live. That said, we live in the heart of the southern drought and we have to use paper towels, paper plates, etc. We have to conserve water. Our well went dry over a year ago.
Also, does anyone know that the new lightbulbs – the little energy-efficient bulbs that are supposed to last for 7 years – the circular one – have mercury in them? I didn’t know that and am now sick to my stomach because we have them in our home. You have to have a PhD in case one of them breaks.
I agree we have to be good stewards when it comes to God’s earth. But, where do you draw the line? Lightbulbs with mercury in them is not safe for us – but they save energy….
Julie
GA
The word “moderation” comes to my mind. I’m a recycler, watch my energy use, have rain barrels, and more. God did intend for us to take care of what he makes available to us. But we need to keep our minds engaged and make sure we don’t just blindly follow every “green” advice we get. Some things make very good sense and others produce more problems than they solve.
I strongly recommend that all Christians watch “The Story of Stuff.” You can view it for free on the internet. It’s maybe 15 or 20 minutes long. Very interesting and really makes you think about some things in a different way. Don’t worry, it isn’t terribly depressing or accusational.
Since my husband “made” me watch it I have really become more aware of what I purchase, what I do with it once I’ve purchased it, and most importantly, WHY I’ve purchased it.
I have to say I don’t really get the comments that some Siestas have made – something to the effect of “yes, being a responsible steward is important, but abortion is much more so.” What in the world does one have to do with the other? Why shouldn’t we be passionate about BOTH? I don’t understand how one conflicts with the other. Can we only care about one thing at a time?
I so enjoyed your post but I honestly wish I had not skimmed through many of the comments. Ugh.
I loved what you wrote, Melissa! You are a very talented writer and brought up many good points. I got convicted of throwing my chewing gum out of the window of my car!! I’m not going to do that anymore because I don’t want to mess up God’s creation! Thanks for the good word! Have a great day, you adorable girl!!
Thanks Melissa for the timely words and for reminding us of our role as christians to take care of our environment.It’s not only responsible…it’s also healthier. Well Done Melissa!
Cady
P.S. Amanda… You have been missed on the blog…hope all is well with you!
P.S.S. Beth and Keith…Congrats on the Star…she is beautiful. I know in the coming months you will have some great stories to tell.
Melissa, thank you so much for this post. I can’t tell you how amazing this is. I say this because for the last two weeks I have felt a pulling at my heart to start doing something about the garbage that I see leaving my house daily. I have a family of four and we can easily fill a large trash bag every day. Between water bottles, milk jugs, and pizza and cereal boxes, I feel like a real slime ball throwing them all away to take up space in some land fill. They could be turned into something useful. We live in a very rural area in Mississippi where recycling is about as common as an honest politian in an election year (I didn’t just say that, did I??) Anyway, the closest recycling area is a couple of hours away…. this may sound odd, but I almost began to feel this “call” to do something about it for my entire community, but then I thought why would I waste my time trying to save a plastic jug, we need to be worrying about saving humans…but after reading your blog, I now realize that God wants me to do both, it may well be Him “calling” me to do something about this. I think sometimes when we hear the word “calling” we only tend to think it is for calling people into the ministry, but I am finally realizing that God calls us to many areas where He can be glorified. Thank you again!! Now, if I can just figure out how to get started…..
Calista Patterson
Calista Patterson
This is such an awesome Biblical truth, thank you Melissa! I live in Germany where I have 4 trash bins to separate my trash: plastic, paper, glass, food/rubbish. The trash collector will NOT take your trash if it’s not separated properly. The glass needs to be walked to the village to be disposed. You take your own basket to the market or you must pay to purchase a plastic bag. It’s become a normal part of our life taking extra time to dismantle a cereal box into plastic and paper, and makes us very aware at how much packaging surrounds a product when having to make time to place it into separate bins. When visiting friends, you are always asking which bin is plastic, paper, etc. Everyone is so very aware. However, you have shown a fresh truth to me, we are helping to care for God’s creation for future generations to stand in awe of the Creator!!! I will think on this as I dismantle and what a great way to bring up God and his creation over here! I love it!
MMF happy birthday. i mailed a card to your Star/dog home.
glad you are churching..have you
googled/justmoved.org yet?loveya
ant SueC
howdy MMF, happy birthday, i mailed
your card to Star/dog home.
glad you are churching/have you
googled then justmoved.org yet?
my friend Susan started that ministry..take care Ant SueC
Thank you so much for this post! I have been interested in eco-stuff for a long time but it is so intertwined with new age junk that I don’t know how to approach it anymore. I appreciate your three points and your explanations. My dream would be to work at a Christ-based eco-lodge. Hmmm, maybe you’ve started something, Melissa! P.S.-your apple tart is just as good as the ones in Paris 🙂
well if it’s not too late to post let me suggest the book serve god save the planet by sleeth
Hey Melissa I love this post. I recieved an email from an old friend about the waste of “plastic grocery bags” I have yet to purchase an eco friendly bags but I am going to after seeing this!
http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbc.dll/article?AID=/20080506/MULTIMEDIA02/80505016
This topic has been on my mind more in the last year. Now, I do not have the little bag that you are talking about! I shop at Kroger or Walmart, I buy the cheap store brand stuff, not organic! However, when we started experiencing water shortages in Georgia, it made me start thinking about how much water we consumed. We started conserving our water in different ways and I was shocked at how much my water bill went down that month. It was around $25! Also, on the usage meter that they show you, it was a significant difference from the same time the year before. This has made me start thinking about my other utilities as well.
When we were at deeper still in ATL, Kay spoke about the food shortages, I came home and researched it for myself. I told my husband just the other day, we really need to start thinking about how much we waste, how much we spend eating out and how much gas we use. I travel back and forth a lot to church during the week, doing women ministry stuff. We live about 18 miles from the church. But to me it is worth it. So, I’m trying to cut back on my gas in other areas. I think that we all have to look at how much we waste, in everything we do, money, utilities, food, all of it. I really need to research the food, because I don’t understand the organic, I just know it is a little more expensive, and I have a hard enough time feeding a family of 5 which often turns into a family of 7 when I have guests!
Thank you for this random post! I love what you taught us and I plan to use it. Think about how much money we’ll save just cutting back on the utilites! 🙂
Girl, Oh! How your mother must beem when you post. What an asset to us and Living Proof you are! Some great points to chew on. Thanks for sharing!
I know several renowned theologians who say that when Christ comes back, he will set up his kingdom here on earth. When the scriptures speak about the earth burning in fire, the original Greek meaning is a refining or purifying fire and not a destroying fire. The earth will be purified of all sin. This is such a beautiful picture of a return to paradise, the Garden of Eden. As the Lord’s prayer says, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” So, if this will be our eternal home with Christ, what more reason could we have to take care of it.
Well, I must tell you about a recent experience I had. Here in NC we are in a major drought and have been for 2 summers. Well, I was brushing my teeth and left the water just “running away” and the Holy Spirit convicted me about being wasteful. I ignored the Holy Spirit and thought “I don’t have any water problems, so I won’t worry about it. Low and behold, if the next day I didn’t come home and we had NO WATER. I was horrified and very very sorry that I did not listen to the LORD when I should have. I agree with you 100%.
Much Love
Thanks for posting this subject with biblical "proof". I found some interesting facts on my company's website that I thought you might find interesting…(I'll apologize in advance for the length…and feel free to cut and paste, if you decide to post this message.) God bless you in your continued work – in real, tangible ways!
PayItGreen is a simple, safe, and smart way to have a positive impact on the environment!
By switching to electronic bills, statements, and payments, every year the average household can:1
Save 6.6 pounds of paper
Save 0.079 trees
Avoid use of 4.5 gallons of gasoline to mail bills, statements, and payments
Avoid release of 63 gallons of wastewater into the environment
Avoid producing 171 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions
Saving this amount of greenhouse gas emissions is the equivalent of:
The emissions avoided by not driving 169 miles
The emissions avoided by not consuming 8.8 gallons of gasoline
Planting 2 tree seedlings and allowing them to grow for 10 years
Preserving 24 square feet of forestland
With many households participating, these smallcontributions can add up to a big benefit for the environment.
If 20 percent of households (22,876,800 households) were to switch to electronic bills, statements, and payments, every year the collective impact would:1
Save 150,939,615 pounds of paper
Save 1,811,275 trees
Avoid creating 1,439,601,370 gallons of wastewater
Avoid creating enough wastewater to fill 2,180 Olympic-size swimming pools
Avoid filling 8,597,328 household garbage bags with waste
Avoid filling 6,141 garbage trucks with waste
Avoid using 102,945,600 gallons of gasoline to mail bills, statements and payments
Avoid producing 3,920,802,916 pounds (1,960,402 tons) of greenhouse gas emissions
Saving this amount of greenhouse gas emissions is the equivalent of:
The emissions avoided by not driving 3,861,769,517 miles
Taking 325,722 cars off the road
The emissions avoided by not consuming 200 million gallons of gasoline
Planting 45.6 million tree seedlings and allowing them to grow for 10 years
Preserving 12,405 acres of forestland
And there are big benefits for you, too!
Reduce clutter.
The average household receives approximately 19 bills and statements and makes approximately 7 payments in paper form monthly 2.
Save time and money.
The average consumer saves 2.5 minutes per bill when paying electronically instead of with a check3. The cost of postage and check stock can add up to more than $100 per year; these costs can be saved by making payments electronically, instead of by paper check. Also, credit scores are significantly increased when a consumer receives payments by Direct Deposit and uses Direct Payment to pay recurring monthly bills and/or save and invest automatically.
Improve security.
Consumers receiving electronic bills and statements and making payments electronically can maintain tighter control over accounts in real time. Almost 85 percent of identity theft cases are due to "offline" transactions such as lost checkbooks and stolen bills, statements, and check payments4.
Frequently asked questions about PayItGreen
1. Project Performance Corp for the PayItGreen Alliance, 2008 | Sources:
Environmental impact estimates associated with paper reductions were made using the Environmental Defense Paper Calculator. For more information visit http://www.papercalculator.org.
Greenhouse gas emissions estimates associated with transportation of paper bills and payments were made using the World Resources Institute (WRI) Mobile Combustion CO2 Emissions Calculation Tool. For more information visit http://www.ghgprotocol.org/calculation-tools/service-sector.
Greenhouse gas emissions equivalency estimates were made using the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator. For more information visit http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html.
Statistics defining the number of paper bills, bill payments, and statements mailed in 2006 were provided by: "The Household Diary Study: Mail Use & Attitudes in FY 2006." United States Postal Service (Washington, DC: March 2007). For more information visit http://www.usps.com/householddiary/welcome.htm
2. Dove Consulting for PayItGreen, 2007
3. CheckFree, a Fiserv company
4. Javelin Strategy & Research, 2007
Just saw this article on line.
“Second Coming Ecology”
We care for the environment precisely because God will create a new earth.
David Neff
July 2008, Vol. 52, No. 7
i so wish you would SPEAK MORE….maybe your own blog….Kudos for being open to what i also would have rolled my eyeballs at..when going green becomes the idol of the day..which i believe it is…it is never seriousle investigated and everyone just thinks they know the right thing to do which may in fact be totally wrong….I don’t want the idol worshippers to be in charge nor do i want to be jailed for driving a truck without accurate information…kind of like what this last lesson talked about…the devil may use something that is true but actually be supporting a non-truth/lie….enough enough..I pray that God reveals the truths in this situation to us stewards before the idol worshippers sell us a pointless solution…..Please WRITE A BOOK!!!!!
SO glad so many Christians are finally seeing the importance of “going green” and being good stewards of what God has given us!
I am completely aware that this comment is two months late… {womp, womp} But wanted Melissa to know that I am adapting this material for a class tomorrow night with my eleventh and twelfth grade girls… and will totally give you props for the inspiration! 🙂 Thanks for having all these blogs so easily accessible at my fingertips!