As I shared in yesterday's edition of the daily blog challenge, I don't really consider myself "green." In fact, the word itself kind of irritates me. However, there are certainly reasons that I try to reuse, recycle, upcycle, and just generally do nice things for the earth, so those are what I will focus on for today's post.
The really fantastic thing about this blog challenge is that it has pushed me outside of my comfort zone in many ways, which has helped me to learn new things about my responsibilities to the earth as a Christian. I never would have written a post about becoming green on my own, but I do now want to work harder at making good decisions for the earth as part of my duty as a Christian.
The main reason that I want to care for the earth is because the Bible instructs us to be good stewards of the earth. I was able to find several verses that indicate that humans are expected to care for the home that God has provided for us, thanks to this excellent article entitled "Bible Verses About Protecting the Environment." Isaiah 24:4-6 says:
The earth mourns and withers, the world fades and withers, the exalted of the people of the earth fade away. The earth is also polluted by its inhabitants, for they transgressed laws, violated statutes, broke the everlasting covenant. Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and those who live in it are held guilty. Therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left.These verses indicate that God wants us to care for the earth and that if we fail to do so, there will be serious consequences. That is reason enough for me to really start paying attention to what I am doing to care for the earth in the way that God intends. So, I suppose my answer to today's writing prompt is that the reason I became green is because God told me to. It just makes sense to do so, too. God really has given us an amazing and wonderful gift, and just as we show our gratitude for gifts from our friends by caring for and using those gifts, we must care for and use the earth to show our gratitude for this awesome gift from God.
The amazing thing about the Bible is that no matter how much you think you know about Scripture - not that I claim to know all that much - it always has more in store for you than you realize. Every time you read through the Bible, you learn something new or notice something that you never really noticed before or gain a whole new perspective on a passage that you have read or heard a hundred times before. Next time someone asks me why I use cloth diapers, I am going to tell them it's because of Isaiah 24:4-6...and also because cloth diapers are just so stinking cute!
Great blog. We had a Sunday school discussion on this once with senior high - that the real cause of pollution is sin. That the earth is and will be devastated by it, and will eventually need to be replaced because of it (Revelation 21:1). Throughout scripture, if you do a search on pollution, you'll see that it's referenced heavily, and that the earth actually reacts to pollution (check out Leviticus 18:25, 28). And this, written 3,000 years ago! Science eventually catches up with scripture. Thanks for the profound and researched thoughts, and I like your response for why you use cloth diapers :)
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