Environmentalism or Stewardship? (A Soap-Box Moment)

I have been thinking a lot lately about environmentalism. I am a person who was raised in the "going green" era. I learned that recycling, reusing and reducing usage were good and wasting was bad. And I find it hard to disagree with the idea that there is a finite supply of resources on this planet.

This fits in very well with the German heritage I come from (particularly the post-refugee/post-war mindset of my parents) in which you care for and use wisely and sparingly the things which you have, in part because there is no certainty of having more. This "waste not, want not" mentality seems to be common among many Christians.

I have observed, however, that some Christian groups link care for the environment with politics and "liberalism." This has unfortunately pushed some people away from what I would call "responsible stewardship." God gives Adam and Eve and their descendents responsibility over the earth, the animals and the plants (Gen 1). God calls all creation "good" and gives dominion over it to the people who were created in God's image. Unfortunately, I fear that we (many Christians) are not being good stewards of God's creation. I feel that it is not only a good idea, but it is God's will that we care responsibly for the world He created. The ideas of "reduce, reuse, recycle" should be embraced by the church--not because they are scientifically-based, but because they are Biblically-based!

OK--I think I'll step down from my soap-box. But I think it would be an interesting study to look at the messages in the Bible which call for responsible stewardship of God's creation. Food for Thought anyway!

Blessings!