On Being Green

This story (NYT registration required) which has been in the news this week has got me thinking about the environment, money, and following Jesus. The organization, the Evangelical Environmental Network has a website called What would Jesus Drive? For a long time, especially since living in Palm Beach County, I've been disheartened by seeing massive suv's with fish symbols and American flags on the back end. It seems that the pinnacle of being American and the "blessing of God" equals having a suv bigger than my living room.

Actually, I don't think the question we should be asking is "What would Jesus Drive?" These kind of questions usually end up producing generalized responses that have nothing to do with following the real Jesus. Instead, we should be investigating how Jesus is dealing with us as disciples, how he is causing us to rethink our basic values. Does growing wealthy automatically mean that God is blessing you and it's okay to buy a big car? Not to mention the environmental concerns, but what about the millions of Christians around the world who just want a good meal tomorrow? Closer to home, would Jesus have us go into huge amounts of debt just so we can carry our kids to soccer practice in style? It seems obvious to me that the kingdom of God stands in opposition to anything that will poison the atmosphere or put you in bankruptcy. To me this is not a liberal/conservative issue, but one of learning to live as God intended - enjoying his creation and resisting the need to be cool.