Today’s scripture: Psalm 24:1-2, Psalm 65:9-13 (ESV-text and audio) (KJV) (The Message)
As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.
My thoughts (Becca Huttsell):
Thank God for grace. I thought I felt led to reach out to the people in Sudan and “help” them. The joke was on me. I am the one in need of “help”.
My first Sudan trip in 2008 gave me the opportunity to travel with David Radcliff/New Community Project on a business trip. David was a humble and patient teacher and opened doors of discussion in my mind that I didn’t know existed. He began challenging me on my personal lifestyle practices regarding our environment and how what I do every day directly affects those in Sudan and others around the world. But I was unable to give the environmental aspect of my experience much consideration. I was too overwhelmed with the poverty, famine, disease, stories of torture and rape and visible scars attesting to these atrocities.
Today’s scripture illustrates that God intends for us to be responsible for the earth — to be an advocate for our environment. My return trip to Sudan this year allowed me to see that I am far from following these scriptural promptings. My secretary has long criticized my willingness to begin recycling paper, ink cartridges, and pop cans “for Jesus” as a means of the church gaining financial benefit, when I fail to do it for the pure sake of valuing our sacred earth. Ouch. She has a point. I am finally understanding that God, not just tree huggers, wants me to practice earth friendly practices to benefit all God’s children.
So now I have yet another thing to add to my spiritual and socially aware radar screen. This feels overwhelming. Aren’t I busy enough? Don’t I have enough already to feel guilty about, without adding yet another item to my reasons-I’m-going-to-hell-for-sure list?
I was raised on a farm. It seems like I am constantly being told that the values I was raised with are no longer good. We raised tobacco and apparently sent many people to early graves. We believed in guns and used them often — not a popular thing today. We put chemicals on the ground and crops.
I admit that in today’s world these things don’t sound so great. But as a child fifty years ago we were the salt of the earth. Now even my cows are under attack. Did you know that some say that beef production is the leading cause of global warming? One pound of beef requires more than fifteen pounds of grain and hundreds of gallons of water to produce. If each person in United States would decrease their meat consumption by half, it would free up the equivalent of the Colorado River multiplied by fourteen! Did you know that each day a cow also belches 640 quarts of a potent global warming gas, methane?
I want to be skeptical. But as I look into the kind and gracious faces of our Sudanese brothers and sisters and experience their formidable spirits despite the hardships they endure, I tell myself that I must change my habits if there is even a chance these things are true. How can I waste water here when they have none there? How can I continue to overeat here when they are starving?
So I challenge you to look at your own personal practices and struggle along with me to apply some life-giving changes. How can we reduce our use or lessen our tendency toward having too much “stuff” in general? Pastor Jeff gave a great sermon on this during the What Would Jesus Buy? series and challenged us to rid our homes of items we didn’t need. Reuse instead of buying again. Recycle.
To help assess your own ecological footprint, follow this link and calculate your lifestyle practices
, and prayerfully consider where to start or how to expand what you are already doing.
Thought for the day: How might each of us individually, and collectively in our congregations, begin a program of environmental renewal?
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.