Earth Day, 2014

Earth Day 2014

So often I feel that Christians view Earth Day with a pessimistic attitude, which is commonly justified by saying that Earth Day is a pagan holiday. Admittedly, it is a pagan holiday to some extent. However, Christmas and Easter are also technically pagan holidays, as December 25 was a Roman day of worship for the solar god Mithra and the Egyptian god Horus. Easter originated in the worship of Ishtar (pronounced Easter), which is directly linked to ancient Baal worship. But the argument for Christmas and Easter is that Christians don't recognize nor celebrate the pagan aspect, but rather focus on the "Jesus story." Why should Earth Day be any different? Can we as Christians not recognize Earth Day from a Christian worldview, taking time to recognize and appreciate God's creation? Even Christians celebrate patriotic holidays such as the Fourth of July, Veterans Day, etc, despite these holidays having no distinct Christian ties to them, except for the fact that we are celebrating our freedom of religion and recognizing those who died to protect it. Is that so different than recognizing God's creation and making an effort to protect it?

Earth Day often gets a negative view from Christians, largely due to Christians negative view on environmental activist groups such as "save the whales" or "protect our forests". The negative view on these groups is often spurred on by the group's sometimes extreme tactics that make the news or are stereotyped about them. What if Christians went to such extreme tactics with such passion and conviction for their beliefs as these groups did? Maybe there's something to learn from them rather than blowing them off as "hippies" or "extremists?" It is too often that Christian attitudes are judgmental about such environmental groups. It is almost to the point where a Christian's thoughts towards environmentalists would essentially boil down to "those damn idiots." Yet Jesus condemns judgmental, self-righteous attitudes numerous times in the New Testament. The first step in implementing a Christian Earth Day is to be mindful of hidden judgement, self-righteousness, and roots of hate in our thoughts. Weed them out, for thoughts are merely a reflection of our hearts (Mark 7:21).

"In the beginning, God..." Most Christians are extremely familiar with the Biblical account of the creation and fall of man found in the first two books of the Bible. So familiar that it is routine, lacking awe. Remember what God calls his creation after day 1? Good. After day 2? Good. 3, 4, 5? Good. God's creation is good. Day 6 God called his creation (humans)very good. He made us in His image. If we are in God's image, and God is the creator, should we not then attempt to preserve God's good creation? God put man in charge of caring for His creation (Gen 2:15). Is that not the principal of good stewardship? Being a good steward almost always creates thoughts about money management, which God holds us accountable for. If God calls us to be good stewards with money, a man-made concept, how much more should we be responsible for the creation made by the word of God Himself, especially when God put us responsible over it and explicitly commanded us to take care of it?

Why are there not more Christians involved in these activist groups who are attempting to preserve God's creation? I fully acknowledge what is said in Romans about how it is important not to confuse the creation with the Creator, and how we are to make sure we are worshiping the Creator rather than the creation. In the gospels, Jesus calls us to be "fishers of men," never once explicitly asking us to make any environmental environment at all. In fact, the Bible says that the earth is going to burn and be destroyed. Is that a reason why we should not help preserve God's good creation? It is not our job to use the end to justify the means. We are to be good stewards with what we are given. When the Master comes back to claim what is rightfully His, He can destroy it if he wants to, for it is the Lord who gives (creates) and the Lord who has the power to take it away (destroy) (Job 1:21).

Preserving the environment should not be our number-one top priority. That still belongs to saving souls, becoming fishers of men, and growing in our Christian faith. However, part of growing in our Christian faith is changing the small things in our lives to better attempt to be holy as He is holy (1 Pet 1:16). This includes things like how we treat others, money management, and spending time in God's Word. Have you ever heard the ocean's waves roar, appreciated the way a flower smells, been inspired by a mountain, or humbled by a thunderstorm? Does this not make you fall down and worship the Creator? Psalm 19:1-3, Romans 1:20, Nehemiah 9:6, and many more verses state that nature declared the glory of God and that nature plays a vital role in belief in God. If nature is the declaration of God's glory, should we, as those in the image of God, help preserve that declaration? What is being declared when we look out and see dead animals go to waste due to our pollution, or a lake once clean now filled with toxic waste, or the destruction of an ecosystem due to our over-consumption? 

Which version of God's creation best declares His glory?

In conclusion, I present the following questions on this Earth Day 2014: Should we as Christians care about the environment? If so, to what extent? What can I do to make a difference in to help preserve God's creation so that it can most effectively declare His glory? What is God calling me to do today?