Weekly Reaction #4 - Craftsmen for His Kingdom

I will admit that, in the last couple weeks, my worldview has been fundamentally challenged. And, to be honest, I greatly appreciate that. I think it is essential for us to reevaluate what we believe and why we believe it. And this topic of the Earth and our population is something that, growing up, was brushed off. I feel like I read articles and books that painted things like the population crisis or global warming as issues fabricated by politically driven scientists with a hidden agenda. Now, this is probably an exaggeration. I know my parents did not take the Earth and our stewardship responsibilities lightly and taught me and my siblings about how God has called us to take care of the planet. But that does not change the general, highly conservative opinion that seemed to be the underlying theme of many of the circles I was a part of.

As we have been learning about the various environmental crises and what we might do about them, I am realizing that my worldview is slowly being changed for the better. And why is it being changed? Well, for starters, the basic command Jesus gave us was to love others better than ourselves which means to think about other people’s well-being first and foremost. Doesn’t this include taking care of the land, air, and water that future generations of people will need to be healthy? This is one logical reason to take this seriously. And I am all about logic.

Another thing I knew about but did not quite think about much is the drastic difference in lifestyle between Americans and much of the rest of the world. I have an aunt and uncle who just returned from living in Germany for three years. They talked about how there really wasn’t such thing as disposable plates, silverware, or cups. At a potluck or family get-together, everyone would bring their own eating utensils and wash them afterwards. Of course this is a lot more work but it is just a way of life in Germany. The more I think about it, the more I realize that the throw-away mindset of Americans is a very real and a very alarming concept.

If you read my blog last week, you would know that I was feeling a bit overwhelmed and frustrated by the content we had been discussing in class. There seemed to be too many problems and no practical way to fix things. This is why I thought that both the readings this week and the class period in which Carla Sunberg talked were excellent! The idea that living a holy life, set apart from “the world” includes being aware of creation makes sense. If we believe that we are actively apart of the kingdom of God now, then it follows that we should be actively pursuing the call to restore creation just as God will do eventually. N.T. Wright writes, “If we are already in Christ, already indwelt by the Spirit, we cannot say we shall wait until God does it in the end. We must be God’s agents in bringing, at the very least, signs of that renewal in the present time”. We are called to be in the kingdom now, to be apart of God’s restoration not only in the lives of people but in the planet he created.

Finally, what are we supposed to do about it? Dr. Sunberg talked about serving the poor, something that is greatly talked about throughout the Bible. We also discussed giving up dreams of certain, comfortable lifestyles as well as living authentically. These are all tangible ways we can live this life responsibly. Like I said in my last blog, we can not take on every cause no matter how much it pulls at our heart strings. But we can do what God calls us to do in our individual lives whether that means fighting for the rights of trafficked children in the Ivory Coast or living informed, responsible lives that can be seen as an example in our churches, neighborhoods, and workplaces. Another quote that I think sums up what we are called by God to do comes again from N.T. Wright, “Like craftsmen working on a great cathedral, we have been given instruction about the particular stone we are to spend our lives carving, without knowing or being able to guess where it will take its place within the grand eventual design.” We may never know the impact each choice we make in this life but, if we are seeking God and his will, we can trust that he will work through us to build his kingdom.

Weekly Reaction #3 - But What To Do?

At this point in the semester, I feel as if we have, as a class, read and talked about so much information. Now this is important so that we are properly educated and informed about the content we are covering. But where do discussions, theories, and opinions end and tangible action begin? I wish I knew the answer to that question because I find myself growing frustrated with the cyclical discussions and readings in class. So much talk. But what to do?

Now, I do understand the need for intelligent discussion on the topic of earthly stewardship. It is essential to see an issue from different view points. We all have different experiences due to our upbringings, home towns, and lifestyles. These differences can help us make informed opinions about where we stand on climate change and the population crisis. I love how we have stressed the importance of experience recently in class. The Andy Catlett book was all about how perspective shapes  experience. Andy’s experience with civil rights and World War II was shaped because of his age. His young mind did not view the war with as much severity as his older relatives because he was a child, someone not quite accustomed to the reality of death. When we split into groups and went to explore a place on campus, I was in the group at the Perry Center. There, we found that the rec center as a place depends on the time of day. In other words, my description of the Perry Center might be drastically different then another person’s description due to our separate experiences. And we would both be right!

Another example of this ongoing theme of experience in class has to do with the documentary we watched about chocolate. On one hand, there are the consumers who eat and enjoy chocolate. And on the other hand, there are the children who are subject to working on cocoa plantations for nothing. And then there are the companies themselves who have to worry about keeping their business running while making sure that each step in the production of their product, chocolate, is legal and morally ethical.

As a side note, what a hard position for the CEOs and leaders of the chocolate companies! How do you fix such a big problem when you have to worry about the wellbeing of thousands of people who work for you, keeping a company running, and feeling morally obligated to stop the use of child slavery?

Anyways, what good came out of all the talk about child slaves and chocolate companies this week? We established a problem and discussed ways to practically end this problem as individuals. Do we not eat chocolate? That way, we are not supporting those who allow children to work illegally on cocoa plantations. But will me choosing not to eat a candy bar really make a difference? After all, I am just one person. Or do we spread awareness through social media and word-of-mouth? Maybe this will cause a larger group of people to take action, and, as we all know, a big group with an opinion is heard more easily than a couple people. But there is not much action or push for change if all people do is talk about an issue. A prime example of this came up in class when someone mentioned Kony 2012. Then do we physically travel to the Ivory Coast and smuggle children off of the plantations? As I was sitting in class and listening to a discussion that seemed to go in circles, I felt helpless to know what I could do about this problem as a student. The only conclusion I came to was this: seek and llisten to what God might be calling me to do in my life. I think that it is easy to get fired up about injustices for a couple days and then forget about them completely, satisfied that you feel bad about it. But there is too much injustice in the world to do something about everyone. I am by no means saying to ignore the absolutely awful practice of trafficking children as slaves in the Ivory Coast. In fact, raising awareness about it and not eating chocolate are some ways to do something about it. What I am saying is that instead of getting angry and outraged about an issue, we should sit back, think about it, and ask God what he might want us to do about it. Especially since we are students, individuals who are actively pursuing degrees and specialized skills that God might have need of on the battleground of injustice.

Weekly Reaction #2 - It's Not About Us

I have been enjoying the Andy Catlett book and the discussions that have stemmed from it’s simple storyline. There are a multitude of relatable parallels that spark memories of my childhood and remind me of some of the underlying themes in our culture. The idea of young Andy living in two different worlds and the nostalgia of small town life are two such examples. Something I had not thought about was the connection we made in class between the racial struggles of Andy Catlett’s time and the modern dilemma of a clean Earth. How could there possibly be something similar about the morally-heated civil rights era and the modern discussion of how to feed our growing population?

A quote I particularly liked (which we also discussed in class) in the Catlett book reads, “We were living in a history of ‘race relations,’ to be sure, but, like everybody else, we were living as ourselves in it” (57). When looking back at past events in history, it is so important to remember that real people were living real lives with their own real hopes and struggles. I feel that we tend to look back at the time of slavery and civil rights with a sense of disgust at the apathy of the people during that time. How could any human being treat another human being with such disdain or sit by and do nothing as people are being oppressed? The problem with this thought process is that we are looking back at an issue that, in our eyes, has a clear moral boundary of right and wrong. In reality, race relations were (and still are) a complicated issue not only morally but politically, historically, and economically. I am by no means claiming an excuse for the enslavement of other human beings. What I am trying to show is that living in the middle of an issue like slavery (or, as I will talk about in a bit, earthly stewardship) is quite different than looking back at it.

This is where the discussion about Andy Catlett’s experience and reflections about slavery and civil rights connects with our current issue of sustainability. We unfortunately are living right in the middle of the “green movement” and the crisis of feeding our every growing population. This makes it immensely difficult to find a clearly correct solution and a method of implementing that solution. We are living with politics and opposite opinions as the article The Truth About Greenhouse Gases and the book “For the Beauty of the Earth” demonstrates. The article points out the flawed process of peer-review in several scientific journals while chapter two in the book gives valid evidence of environmental crises. We are also dealing with real life and real economics. Are we willing to sacrifice the comforts of our modern life for the sake of the health of our planet? Significant changes in lifestyle will affect our country (and others) economically as well. Besides all of this, we each have our own individual lives with our own distractions and struggles.

All of this to say, the issues of race relations and earthly stewardship are similar. But not just because they both have underlying political, historical, and economical complications. They are also similar morally. Now in class, a few people felt that both issues can are not comparable because slavery is ultimately about how we treat other human beings and the green movement is about how we treat the planet. I disagree. We should be fighting for a cleaner Earth and more sustainable practices in our lifestyles because of human beings. Not that plants and animals and the land are not important and should not be a reason we push for green practices. But making sure the planet is safe and healthy for future generations is why we need to wrestle with this problem. It is not about us or about the polar bears or about the trees. It is about others; about caring for other people’s needs. We as Christians are commanded to put others before ourselves. Doesn’t this include being good stewards of creation in order to provide clean water and enough food for those generations that come after us?

Weekly Reaction #1 - But They That Deal Truly Are His Delight

The older I have gotten, the more I have realized that the world is not so much a place of black and white as it is a grey place, full of differing opinions and uncertainties. It would be so much easier to navigate life if every decision made was a case of right and wrong and would please everyone. Unfortunately, this is not the reality, and everyone has an opinion on what is the right solution to a problem.

This is where the discussion of this past week becomes frustrating. There are so many inconclusive solutions to the world’s problems. Everyone can agree that there is a problem, but no one can agree on how we should go about saving the world or, as it should be called, being responsible stewards of God’s creation. Every issue I read about this week had multiple solutions, and each solution was backed by intelligent and informed opinions.

For example, the beef industry is full of heated conflict about animal well-being, human health, and the climate change. Which is healthier for the planet, grass-fed or grain-fed cattle? One side claims that grass-fed cows enjoy a more natural life and are healthier to consume. But grass-fed cows produce more methane than cattle who live in feedlots. Due to multiple documentaries and news articles, my idea of feedlots was that they were cramped and disease-ridden. This reality may have been true at one time in one place, but most feedlots provide enough space for cows and are kept relatively clean. How are we supposed to make decisions when each decision could potentially be right? The article on aquaculture seemed to present a similar dilemma. Intelligent people support either types of fish farming, land tanks and ocean pens, with experience and logic. Tanks maintained on land are easily controlled and have no impact on oceans while pens set up just off shore are more natural and can contribute to the ocean’s ecosystem. Another highly debated topic is that of diet. Which diet is best? It seems as if every diet proposed will solve every health and weight problem that we have. In actuality, different cultures live on drastically different diets, and each of those diets have pros and cons.

Article after article was inconclusive on what should be done and how to do it. Many of them focused on how the human population needs to be fed. In the article, The Next Breadbasket, I was struck by a simple truth that would solve many of the food crisis problems around the world. That truth came from the mouth of a successful farmer in Mozambique: “Keep your word.” Many of the farming problems in discussed in the article come from a lack of communication and honesty between local governments, corporate farms, and small communities. Promises are not kept and trust is broken. This is not just a problem for the small farming communities and their governments in African countries. This a fundamental problem when it comes to the political and economic debate on how to care for the planet and the growing population. Honesty is crucial in order to get things done. No one wants to participate in a solution when they do not trust those who propose the solution.

Proverbs 12:22 says, “Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight” (KJV). We may have been able to define the problem of world hunger but, without honesty and trust, the problems will never be solved.