Taking Care of Our Home

It's raining in Roseville so maybe there'll be a little time to do some writing. I've got a chore to do downstairs, but I need to wait awhile. The chore will involve some sawing and it's naptime for our renter's 2 year old. We need to do some measuring too. It's time to make final decisions on the cabinets we'll be putting in our kitchen when it's remodeled this summer. It's a privilege to own a house but many times I remember our renting (and parsonage) days with some fondness. Less focus on these "house" things. Yuck.

Yesterday Toni and I went to the People's Climate Solidarity March in Minneapolis. Toni made a sign for herself, saying she was marching for her grandchildren (with pictures) and on the other side it said "Creation Care is Pro Life" and a hymn title: "This Is My Father's World."

I didn't make a sign, so when a call came for volunteers to carry signs the march organizers had made, I selected one that said "Governor Dayton | Protect Our Future." The republican legislature is making choices that will negatively impact our state's environmental quality. I'm hoping our Governor, who I haven't always agreed with, will stand against what they're doing when it comes to protecting God's good creation. Part of that is our need to be investing more, not less, in public transportation. Our growing population demands it, unless we want more and more and more traffic.

Human beings are responsible for what we think of as "the environment." God gave us responsibility for it, and its creatures, when we were created. Human governments need to help us take care of the creatures God has made, wisely and carefully managing the environment they depend on. The government needs to help us with laws and regulations, controlling our humanity's selfish and short-sighted behavior. I think that's pragmatically and theologically true. Pogo's "We've met the enemy and he is us" is true. Read the Bible to see how.

Now I'm willing to talk about these things. I'm willing to be proven wrong. I'm regularly studying more conservative points of view, just so I can learn what I'm missing. Please don't be shy about commenting or contact me so I can be set straight. You'll probably learn that I'm not as dogmatic as you think.

Peace to you in Jesus' name.

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Posted

(I posted what follows on facebook a few minutes ago. I like to post things there because it's more like a community there. People react or comment. On this blog, I have no idea if anyone has seen what I write, and it's rare that anyone comments at all. There are problems with facebook [as this "Hidden Brain" radio show recording shows], but In so many ways I think it's great.)

Here's what I posted:

"We have no right to decide where we should be placed, or to have preconceived ideas as to what God is preparing us to do. God engineers everything; and wherever He places us, our one supreme goal should be to pour out our lives in wholehearted devotion to Him in that particular work. 'Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might…' (Ecclesiastes 9:10)."

This, from today's utmost dot org, can't be applied to other people, as if we were trying to tell them to be content, for example, in their poverty or sickness or loneliness. Just like we have "no right" to decide where _we_ should be "placed," that is, what the circumstances of our own personal lives should be, we have no right to point the finger at anyone else to tell them that they shouldn't complain or work hard or pray to have their own lives be made better. In fact, one of the things we do as believers is to pray and work and even to complain loudly about the injustices done to others whose lives are hard. That's intercession. But at the same time, as we pray and work and complain on their behalf we will be confident that God is working things out for good in their lives too.

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