Earth Day...or Creator's Day?

Okay, I'm going there...yep, Earth Day, the day our country (maybe the world, not sure about that) "celebrates" the Earth...here is an article that I wrote a few years ago about being a "green Christian"...about celebrating the Creator not the creation...but how that looks very similar, the biggest difference is in your heart and the "why" you're doing it...not the "how"...

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Now I'm sure most of us who haven't been stuck in a cave somewhere for the last decade (and no, raising children does not count as a cave!) have a variety of feelings towards the word "green" (not the color, but the word!).  Those feelings may or may not have changed in the last few years when our country has become more aware of the impact our actions have on the environment.  Whatever you believe or don't believe about global warming (and the debate that follows), none of us living in America, in the past 5 years can ignore the concept of "being green".

"Being green" or "living green" has almost become a political position; a debate between liberalism and conservatism—if you're being green you must be a "tree hugging liberal!".  I don't know how taking care of the earth that God has given and commanded us to take care of became a liberal tree-hugging, non-Christian thing to do (editors note, I’m not saying that to be a Christian you can’t be liberal) but maybe it took on a sour taste for some people when the term "mother earth" got involved.  But the irony to me is that a group of people called "conservatives" are scared of embracing the concept of conservation!

God gave us the earth, The Message version of Genesis 1: 26-30 states, "God spoke: 'Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature so they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, And, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.' God created human beings; he created them godlike, Reflecting God's nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them: 'Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.'  Then God said, 'I've given you every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth And every kind of fruit-bearing tree, given them to you for food. To all animals and all birds, everything that moves and breathes, I give whatever grows out of the ground for food.' And there it was."

God gave us the earth he then called us to be responsible and take care of it, Gen 2:15, "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it."

The Bible is full of verses calling us as God's people to be good stewards of what God has given us.  That is the concept we need to go back to, "what God has given us."  The earth is a gift from God to us and he has commanded us to "take care of it."

In light of this, the concept of "being green" and taking care of the earth (not mother earth but our gift from God) should never have become a differing political stance between liberals and conservatives. If we are truly Christians then we will want to obey God's command to take care of the gift he has given us.  We need to be good stewards of that gift. Being green isn't believing in global warming (that's a whole different blog, that I probably won’t write), it doesn't mean that you are affiliated with a certain political party, it doesn't even mean that you're a "tree-hugging-liberal!"  "Being green" is being responsible with what God has given us.  We should recycle and "live green" not because we love the earth, the creation... we do it because we love God, the Creator!   

  

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So as the country (or the world) celebrates the creation on Earth Day...I challenge you to celebrate the Creator and be responsible for this creation he has given us!

I would also like to proudly state that I've lived most of my life "being green"
...reduce, reuse, recycle...
conserve water...
conserve electricity...
conserve resources...

I've been green so long I remember when it was called "being poor"...
so you can see why I gladly jumped on the more popular term "green"...