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I is for Ignore

ByValerie Comer

Ever notice how good humans are at ignoring things that make us uncomfortable? Like the proverbial ostrich, we blithely stick our heads in the sand and just pretend issues don’t exist. Until, of course, someone plants a swift kick on our behind!

One of the things a lot of Christians ignore is the environmental movement. Many write it off as leftist and alarmist. Because it isn’t “spiritual,” it isn’t worthy of our time and attention.

I’ve recently discovered Kevin Scott’s blog, Sustainable Christianity, and particularly this post: 7 Reasons Christians Can’t Afford to Ignore Creation Care. He prefaces with these words:

It is unfortunate that many of us (and I include myself, through most of my life) think of environmental concern and sustainability as mostly a political issue, and worse, one that falls on the “wrong” side of the political fence. Combine this with a version of the Christian worldview that looks forward to escaping the earth rather than witnessing its redemption, and you have a serious blind spot.

Spot on, Kevin.

When nonbelievers look at the mess our world is in, they see the potential demise of our planet and all life. They see The End. No wonder many panic!

Christians have a slightly different viewpoint. We believe the Bible teaches that believers will live forever, and that God will create “a new heaven and a new earth.” (Revelation 21:1)

Does that give us any right to trash the current one? Not at all. It’s a precious gift from God that He specifically asked us to take care of in Genesis 2. Let’s stop ignoring the unsustainability issues that face us and ask God how we can help care for one of His greatest gifts to humanity: the Earth we live on and the stunning beauty it surrounds us with.

What do you think? Does creation care have a place on your radar?

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8 Comments

  1. You need a “like” button on your site. That’s always been a thing for me, the ignorance/ignoring of our responsibility to this planet. In Bible terms, we already trashed one house by breaking the rules (Eden), and we’re well on our way to trashing the second God put in our hands.

    1. I agree on the ‘like’ button. I often find myself reading a post or even the comments under one, wishing I could simply ‘like’ the words without typing up a response. (Lazy…)

      Good analogy on trashing more than one version of God’s gift already.

  2. And there we go in a circle. Seven deadly sins has laziness right up there. We should engage the environment…and engage interesting conversations. Like is a shortcut.

  4. SO true! I find so many of my Christian friends and acquaintances writing off caring for creation, even caring for their own bodies, and calling it faith. Great post!

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