Creativity is a big buzzword these days. According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (Fourth Edition, Copyright 2009), creation is defined as (among other things), “the act of creating” and “an original product of human invention or artistic imagination.”

And so we hear and read about creative designers, creative editors, and even the creative arts. But in reality, as far as creativity goes, we are no match compared to our heavenly Father. Within six days, He created the world and the universe in just the right size and proportion. Too near to the sun, and we would have been burnt to a crisp; too far away, and we would have frozen to death. The Lord our God even designed the Earth’s gravitational pull to be just perfect – too strong and we risked colliding with other planets; too weak a force would send our planet careening out into space.

Mankind is only capable of making use of existing materials to fashion useful and beautiful and elegant works of art, fashion, utility or design. To date, no man (or woman) has been able to make something tangible out of nothing, like what God did in the Genesis account of creation.

The search for the Philosopher’s Stone, by which it was believed that basal elements could be turned into gold, has inspired many searches and legends – but no basis to date so far.

But God has created us in His image, and although we do not have His level of creative powers, He has blessed us with other forms of creation, like building beautiful and useful things and turning ideas and thoughts into forms like music, art, science, and literature. In that light, every profession – be that of architect, builder, construction worker, musician, writer, civil servant, domestic worker or even parent – fits in this frame of reference.

A well-known story bears repeating here: A man walked down the street and saw a construction site. He stopped and, in fascination, watched three men busily working. The man noticed that there was something different about the three workmen’s attitude towards the task at hand. One workman looked quite stoical; the second, a bit more enthused; while the third workman smiled and happily whistled. When the man approached each of the workmen and asked what they were doing, the man with the stoical look answered, “I’m laying bricks.” The second workman said, “I’m building a wall.” But the whistling worker proudly answered, “I’m building a cathedral!”

Same job, but a different mindset shaped the attitudes of the three men. As Oscar Wilde said, “Two men look out from the same jail bars. One sees mud, the other sees stars.” The creative impulse can be used for good and evil, sometimes both being part of the same coin. Antibiotics kill germs, but their overuse can lead to the formation of antibiotic-resistant organisms that are now becoming public health nightmares.

As the senior demon Screwtape tells his nephew Wormwood in C. S. Lewis’s famous novel, “nothing is naturally on our side; pleasure, reason, and goodwill were created by an all-powerful God to be used for his purpose and glory” and all Wormwood and his fellow tempters can hope to do is distort these goods and prod humans to fall for their deception.

But that does not mean that we ought to take a negative view towards the creative act. Had a certain Reverend Wright persisted with the view that “if the Lord wanted man to fly, He would have given him wings,” his sons, Orville and Wilbur, might never have pioneered aviation history. Similarly, if the US Patent Office still held the view that “everything that needs to be invented has been invented,” the computer and X-Ray machine may have never seen the light of day. The right step for Christians to take is to thus act as agents of God to “prod” the creative arts toward the greater glory of God.

When the builder or architect considers his latest project as more than a house or office block, but as a family’s place of security and dreams or as a dream workplace, then the stage is set for a higher standard of quality that will not only satisfy the aesthetic but also the safety and profit margin aspects. This will be a better result than if the project was just considered as one which had to be done in the shortest possible time, with little more to consider besides the fear of liquidated damages for any delays.

Similarly, when the journalist thinks of his story less as an addition to his growing portfolio, but instead considers the emotions and sensitivities of his newsmakers, the result will be a piece that still maintains factual accuracy but now also combines sensitivity and understanding. In this respect, the creative act has become “redemptive” by helping to change the negative perspective attached to journalism, and “rehabilitated” the craft.

But the double-edged nature of the creative act makes such results almost hard to attain naturally – choices must be made towards certain goals. And those choices may not always be advantageous to one’s inclinations. So it is also with the stage or movie actor who chooses to play nude roles (because more demand and money comes his or her way) gets greater financial rewards but has brought his or her creative art to a lower level as a result.

The tools in the creative acts do not by themselves have any positive or negative value – that is only seen in the final result of their use. So it is critical that Christians do their best in putting such tools to good use for the Kingdom of God. Journalists and writers whose main focus is putting ideas and observations in print can therefore do this by using their talents in writing articles that bring glory to God and encourage His people, e.g., writing in church newsletters or arguing the case for the existence of God. One potent example is that of Lee Stroebel, who used his skills as a journalist to craft well-thought arguments supporting the existence of Jesus Christ and why He is the Savior of the world.

Perhaps the strongest examples for the putting of such creative artistry to use for God and His Kingdom have come from musicians like Lenny LeBlanc and Amy Grant, two artistes well-known in the fields of Christian and popular music. Both of them have been positive role models in their fields, writing and singing songs that are good examples to their audiences and that bring glory to God too.

But man’s creativity is not limited to the starting point of ideas and thought. Creativity also has the power to repair the damaged man and woman by transforming their mental and physical being. Take the prosthetics designer who lovingly and painstakingly crafts a prosthesis for a disabled or handicapped person, taking into account the person’s body structure, limb length, etc. The designer’s efforts show the extent he or she is willing to strive towards making the disabled person’s life easier, instead of harder. That is a form of “re-creation.” The architect who designs a hospital, taking into account the needs of the patients who will be warded there, also takes part in this process of “re-creation.” But here lies a major difference. Without the power of Jesus Christ, the creative act is limited in scope. Such limited creative power may be able to transform the physical and mental aspects of our lives, but the spiritual lies outside its reach. For only the creative power of Jesus Christ can transform us. Take the examples from the Bible – Jesus gave new life to the mentally ill man in the region of the Gerasenes; He healed many who were blind; He set free those controlled by evil.

God can take any person and recreate him or her. God can take any adulterated life and remake it. In the words of Paul, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor 5:17), i.e., our lives will be totally transformed. This is the power of Jesus Christ, and it is still available to us. Without that power, our spiritual beings become dry and lifeless. But God, who breathed life into Adam and Eve, can and wants to breathe new life into us when we ask Him. When His power is infused in our music, dance and drama, His spirit connects with the spirits of the people in the audience and brings them to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Black American scientist George Washington Carver was one example of what the power of Jesus could do to one life. During his lifetime, this son of slaves reputedly discovered three hundred uses for peanuts and hundreds more for soybeans, pecans and sweet potatoes, and also obtained three patents between 1925 and 1927. But Carver, who became a Christian when he was 10 years old, said many times, that his faith in Jesus was the only mechanism by which he could effectively pursue and perform the art of science. To Carver, God and science were both areas of interest, not warring ideas in his mind. He matured in his faith by placing his understanding of God firmly in the Bible. In attempts to teach his students, he defaulted first and foremost to making the name of Christ known. Carver taught that knowledge of God through the Bible and devotion to Jesus was paramount to what he could teach them pedagogically through numbers and formulas.

Or how about C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, the writers whose novels and fictional creations helped bring across the love and saving grace of God in ways no other medium could? Lewis’s novels like The Screwtape Letters, made the wiles of the Devil come alive, while Tolkien’s Middle-Earth tales, especially The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, is a well-crafted, subtle tale of Christ’s redemptive work in our lives.

That was what God did with the lives of three men whose hearts were surrendered to Him. We can do no less if we also surrender our lives to the living God. How can we be sure that we are agents of God’s creativity to the world? The following steps can help:

(a) Ensure that your mind is saturated with God’s Word daily.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Ps 119:105).

(b) Commit your work and talents to God daily.
“Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this” (Ps 37:5).

(c) Ensure that you feed your mind with what is pure and beautiful and pleasing in God’s sight.
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things” (Phil 4:8).

(d) Be focused on your work and do not be distracted or “double-minded” (Jam 1:8).

So what is your big idea? If it is focused on giving glory to God, and He is in the plans, it cannot fail. See what God did with Carver, Lewis, and Tolkien. We can do no less with God on our side. May God bless us as we commit our work and lives to His continuous “re-creation” for His redemptive purposes.

Arulnathan John works for Singapore Press Holdings, and worships at Acts Centre, a daughter congregation under St Andrew’s Cathedral. He loves to read, go to the movies and the theatre, chat on the Internet and keep his mind open to new experiences.

The New International Version of the Bible has been referenced.

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it”
(Gen 2:15).

As I reside in the controlled comfort of my life in the developed world, I have become challenged to think more deeply about questions of place and faith that are seldom conveyed in sermons. I am a Christian ecologist and university professor, and as such, I am frequently asked by students how we might approach our roles as creation’s stewards and what God has for us in creation for our faith journey.

Fundamentally, I believe these questions should compel us to delve deeply into the concepts of wilderness and garden. These two terms seem to pivot about the direction of cultivation. Humanity can cultivate the creation by exerting control to bring about a transformation (a garden) from a formerly untamed setting (the wilderness). One could contrast this with wilderness in which the creation cultivates our humanity by exerting its control to bring about a transformation from one’s untamed, undisciplined flesh. It is cultivation, and its transformative outcomes, that relate to an ecological sense of place in the life of the Christian.

Sermons that touch upon the concepts or purposes of the natural world for our spiritual walk tend to focus on three main themes. First, that creation can impart a deeper sense of awe in us toward our Creator. Second, that it can provide a substrate for spiritual reflection upon the nature of God (general revelation). And third, that it can promote therapy and wellness through an experience of physical or spiritual trial. These are indeed some of the significant benefits that an experience in creation with God can bring about in the spiritual life of a Christian.

Rarely, however, are the physical derivatives of time spent in creation recognized. Many churches encourage their congregations to escape civilization for a time of retreat in a remote place, removed from the frenetic pace of (sub)urban existence. Parishioners, more often than not, flock to retreat centers or camps in the forest or mountains, only to congregate indoors to discuss and work through life’s challenges without ever connecting with the Creator of all life in a small corner of His creation. We come to gaze upon the beauty of the temple, but through protective glass to avoid biting insects, harsh conditions, and physical exertion. However, we end up falling short of truly entering in.

The Austral Wilderness

A picturesque summer morning in Tierra del Fuego National Park near Ushuaia, Argentina set the scene for me to explore some of these questions a few years ago. Our students were scattered across the park in teams assigned to engage their intellect by studying the flora and fauna of this Magellanic Subpolar Eco-region. My friend and colleague, David Foster, and I left them to their tasks and decided that we would ascend Sierra Valdivieso, a tongue of the Fuegian Andes that flanks the north shore of the Beagle Channel. We hoped to experience two elements of this unique Gondwanan wilderness.

The first goal was to observe the Magellanic Woodpecker, a sister species of the ultra-endangered Ivory-Billed Woodpecker that teeters upon the brink of extinction due to human caused degradation of their North American habitat. As with the Ivory Bill, these avian residents of the southern Andean beech forests are known for their shy disposition and, on that day, they taunted us with their characteristic two-tap tree drumming nearby. Each time we approached, they retreated to a safer distance and remained unseen. As they led us off the trail and deeper into the forest, we were finally impeded by a steep, formidable ravine. Making visual contact with the woodpeckers would have to wait until another day, although we both had a clear sense that we had encountered them nonetheless. We then pressed on to our second objective, to ascend and observe the alpine landscape overlooking the Murray Narrows to the south.

It was in the Narrows that Admiral Robert FitzRoy anchored the HMS Beagle in a cove to escape the harsh maritime conditions of the region. Here was where the young Charles Darwin made intensive collection forays into a mysterious wilderness that subsequently filled British museums with specimens and fueled thought and debate over the origin and diversity of life.1 We were greatly excited at the prospect of gazing out over the geography described in The Voyage of the Beagle that had helped shape human understanding of flora and fauna around the world.2 A mixture of snow flurries, rain, and sun made our summer hike one of great intrigue. We continued upward to meet the high slopes of Valdivieso and together we peered out over the landscape. From our elevated vantage, it was easy for our minds to drift to the historic collision of indigenous and Western cultures during the European colonization of this region.

The Yamana were the direct descendants of the first humans that inhabited this Fuegian zone and were well adapted to extreme conditions. They were able to exist sustainably in this formidable climate and without the vast material wealth that accompanied the visiting European naturalists and explorers of the 1800s.3 To the Yamana, this land was a garden; to the visiting Europeans, it was a wilderness to be conquered. During and after the subjugation and genocide of the Yamana, the settlers sought to tame this wilderness with the passion of looters, resolute to gain the lavish praise of royal benefactors by bringing back the spoils of the New World to the Old.4 The ecologically literate had been exchanged for the ecologically illiterate. By the time the offspring of European settlers came to call southern Patagonia “home,” the tamed land could no longer effectively mentor its humans in the key traditions of sustainable living.

During a chatty roadside breakfast near Lago Escondido just two days after our experience on Valdivieso, our class was awed at seeing not one, but three Magellanic Woodpeckers land on and forage on the insect larvae in a dead tree only twenty meters away. Astonishing! Yet upon later reflection, my first experience with the woodpeckers seemed to have been more profound. The venture into the beech forest after a treasured, elusive creature yielded a more satisfying understanding of it than when we were effortlessly presented with them along the roadside. On the trail up to Valdivieso, I can remember the sight of coarse woody debris, the smell of the tree roots and humid soil, the moist air, the taste of the stream’s water, the medley of green hues, the geographic relief, and the communion with both my fellow naturalist and the drumming birds. I had walked in a garden. The day in the wilderness released a fuller awareness through multiple senses in ways I could not have perceived otherwise.

I have experienced many wild lands across North, Central, and South America; the windy pampas of Argentina; the tropical dry forests of the Darien Gap of Panama, the misty highlands of Costa Rica, the scrubby pine savannahs of Belize, the temperate deciduous Appalachian forests, the Sonoran desert of Mexico, and the boreal forest of the Minnesota Boundary Waters. However, on that particular day in Tierra del Fuego, God revealed to me a new sense of place: that one of the world’s greatest wilderness was really a garden.

Erik Lindquist, is Associate Professor of Biology and Environmental Science at Messiah College. His Ph.D. research at Ohio State University, completed in 1997, explored communication among “earless” tropical frogs. He has devoted nearly 15 years to the conservation of the Panamanian golden frog and other endangered tropical amphibians. Erik has extensive experience in research, teaching, and service in Latin America. He believes that excellence in science instruction must move beyond the passive learning environment into a learning space that is visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Erik’s two chief goals in his professional life are to help Christians live intentionally and to help reveal the magnificence of Creation. As a professor, he strives to make every effort to encourage students to become introspective by examining their lives, their faith, and their world and, as a result of this process he hopes that students develop character and a greater sense of meaning and fulfillment in life. He and his wife, Molly, have four children and extensively travel through Central and South America. The Lindquist family also serves as advocates for Food for the Hungry.

Notes

1 For firsthand journal entries, see Darwin, Charles R. The Voyage of the Beagle. London: Penguin Books, 1989, c.1839, p 171-185; colonial era historic synopses, Murphy, Dallas. Rounding the Horn: Being the Story of Williwaws and Windjammers, Drake, Darwin, Murdered Missionaries and Naked Natives – a Deck’s-eye View of Cape Horn. New York: Basic Books, 2004, p 145-158; and Nichols, Peter. Evolution’s Captain: the Dark Fate of the Man who Sailed Charles Darwin Around the World. New York: HarperCollins, 2003.

2 Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle.

3 Borrero, Luis A. and McEwan, Colin. “The Peopling of Patagonia,” in Colin McEwan, Luis A. Borrero, and Alfredo Prieto, (eds), Patagonia: Natural History, Prehistory and the Ethnography at the Uttermost End of the Earth. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997, p 32-46.

4 Mateo, Martinic B. “The Meeting of Two Cultures,” in Colin McEwan, Luis A. Borrero, and Alfredo Prieto, (eds). Patagonia: Natural History, Prehistory and the Ethnography at the Uttermost End of the Earth. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997, p 110-126.

All photos provided by author.

More information and photos about the Magellanic Woodpecker can be found at www.avesdechile.cl/115en.htm.

The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible has been referenced.

What were the steps involved in your decision to use less energy in your home, and who or what influenced these decisions?

My mum has always shown me the way – not to waste food, turn off appliances when not in use, keep the last run of water from the washing machine for cleaning the toilet, etc. This was way before green issues gained traction. Limited family finance was probably the prime motivation. Things are certainly better now and creature comforts have been gradually added over the years. But somehow we never found the need for air-conditioning. There were days when the weather was really warm and the solution was simply to go and take another shower (without using the heater, of course). Several years ago, I came across an article on standby power taking up a significant proportion of the electrical bill. Then I realized many appliances at home were on standby and were not frequently used. Why allow electricity to leak? I decided to turn them off. My mum has always been at it, I was the one who needed reform.

I had a friend who once remarked, “Live simply, and you will simply live.” I also found out years ago that I had a rare eye condition that could have been triggered by stress. Taken together, it got me asking myself: “Could life be made simpler?” So it was more than just trying to be green, it was part of a bigger question of “removing baggage” and being a work-in-progress steward. Some days I succeeded, some days I failed. But I felt I must at least grapple or struggle with it.

How would you describe your lifestyle?

There are still a lot of areas that I am grappling with. I am only learning to be aware of the impact of my actions. My current lifestyle is simple but not spartan. Thankfully, my workplace is near home and so it makes owning a car far less compelling. And that opens up a lot of possibilities to do more significant things. I still do enjoy little pleasures from time to time – traveling is one. The general rule I try to abide by is: Live a little below my means, and then a little more, if I can afford it.

What keeps you motivated when some days you feel like giving up?

Actually there have been some days I simply gave up! Over time, I found that altruism alone does not last very long for me. What seems more motivating is to resolve ironies and generate two or more benefits from them. Several months ago, I had wanted to increase my frequency of physical exercise but just could not find time for it. Then it dawned upon me that I could take the stairs instead of using the lift. So that’s one less demand on a public facility and one more routine for a healthy heart.

Explain the theology behind your beliefs or in other words, how has the Bible informed your worldview?

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it (Ps 24:1). Let God not find it in ruins on the day of reckoning. And I suspect it reflects the collective spiritual condition as well. When God put Adam in the Garden the intent was for him to cultivate it and keep it (Gen 2:15). I understand the Hebrew word for “keep,” i.e. “shamar,” has the notion of “keep, watch, preserve.” I take it to mean caring for it in a sustainable way. So by extension, I believe the Greater Eden should similarly be shamar-ed. How do we then shamar the earth? When the Israelites collected the manna, they were instructed to take what they needed. Feedback was immediate for those who tried to push the envelope – in the form of bad food infested with maggots (Ex 16:20). The difference today is that the consequence of our actions is imperceptible and removed from us (both in time and distance). We do not see how our individual actions could collectively bring about unintended consequences. But nature is not keeping silent. I am afraid when it does fight back it might come fast and furious. And then ironically, the land will finally enjoy its Sabbath rest (Lev 26:34, 35).

What are some other things you would like to do but haven’t been able to so far?

Some time ago, I read The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan and it inspired a thought: I would like to have a small plot to grow my own greens. This is not aimed at self-sufficiency. But I think it would be fun to appreciate the process of converting the sun’s energy into food. I’d like to know what I eat is not an outcome of a transaction but someone has put in effort to bring it to the table. I had a taste of it when I grew my own rice not long ago. By the way, it was not much of a harvest, not even a spoonful, but for me it was deeply satisfying.

How did your family and friends react toward your conservation efforts?

I am mainly experimenting. So I seldom talk about it with friends. Some have expressed surprise that there is such a community that gives things away such as SgFreeCycle. Others have wanted to do something similar but did not know the resource. But at home, this has been a fun conversation topic with my mum.

Share a story with us from your environmental endeavors over the last few years.

When I first signed up with Bookmooch, an online book exchange platform, I was quite skeptical. Even though there were some safeguards built-in, there were still ways to beat the system. And so I thought, “Why would anybody send a book to a stranger halfway round the globe?” “What if the sender shortchanged me?” Quite unexpectedly, it became an instructive exercise that surfaced some deep-seated stereotypes, even faultlines. It’s just books, one may say, don’t take it too hard. But I think better to have them surfaced in little things, rather than big ones. I do not know to what extent did I save the earth, I think being more self-aware is already a big plus.

What are the biggest challenges you think Singapore and the greater global village face?

In the past when societies were organized around agriculture, there was a certain awareness that what sustained us was dependent on natural cycles and the elements. It was encoded in our culture – in the form of harvest celebrations, rituals to ask for rain, etc. Today, especially in the cities, we are less sensitive to these factors. The ability to get what we want is (perceived) to hinge on only how much money we have. Perhaps this has sent us in the wrong direction.

I think a lot of products are not priced correctly. There seems to be no effective way to account for the externalities like pollution and irreversible damages on the place of origin. But many are beginning to be more aware and there are some promising new technologies on the horizon. We will have to encourage more people to make good choices rather than the proverbial cynic who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing (Oscar Wilde).

Tan Chee Leong is a research engineer and worships at Covenant Evangelical Free Church. He enjoys reading, tending to his small collection of herbs, diving, and traveling to rural locations for hikes or walks. His pet peeves include second-hand smoke and the phrase “at the end of the day.”

The New American Standard Bible has been referenced.

Our first modern day environmental crisis wave appeared in the 70s with doomsday predictions in almost every area of supply, health, and survival. I remember the dire predictions of only seven years of oil remaining, ten years of copper, starvation for the planet, etc., etc., etc. It was part of the force that compelled me to get my first university degree in Environmental Science.

Almost forty years later, we are in the midst of another wave. The current doomsday predictions have a different twist but will likely be written about forty years from now as unfulfilled as the previous predictions. In trying to make a point, too often facts are exaggerated and they produce the wrong reaction: inaction.

Is there a problem or is it all hype? As Christians, how do we respond to it and those who are waving its banner? If we take a good look at the causes versus the symptoms we can see our role in the real problems and how we can lead others through the maze of legislations, “ecotage,” and green phraseology.

First, is there a problem? Yes. Greed, selfishness, and a disregard for others is always a problem. The disparity between what some have and what others don’t is too obvious to ignore and it doesn’t take much thinking to see that the resources some use could benefit many others.

With worldwide communication, it is also clear that the poorer countries are exploited economically and environmentally by those that desire their resources. The poorer nations are willing to trade their resources for a chance at a better life. They are ravaging their own countries without regard for the consequences.

If the wealthy nations didn’t have an insatiable appetite for material things, the poor countries wouldn’t have to sacrifice their resources and environment for the survival economy it creates. In the developed nations, a factory would never be allowed to do what is done in third world countries. Factories should be forced to clean up the water and air they pollute. However, these costs are avoided in third world countries and the consuming nations get their products at a cheaper price (but at a much higher real cost).

If left unchecked, this kind of irresponsible living brings down all the natural systems and in time, the human systems we know today. How long this will take will depend on how we respond to the real problems at hand. How do we respond without losing the balance that Jesus brings between the complex issues of life?

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. (Mt 7:12)

If we apply that to the environmental situation then we need to see that our over-consumption helps lead to scarcity. Our need for inordinate profit and financial return increases the likelihood for exploitation. Someone has to pay for lunch, there really is no such thing as a free one. So pay a fair price and don’t overeat.

We need to look at the material things we have as though we were trying to do the most good with them. The first direction humans were ever given involved our “rule over” creation. How much material resources we need should be based on what is good for all and not on our style preferences or boredom with a particular article of clothing.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” (Gen 1:26)

I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. (Phil 4:10-13)

We also lose one of our best witnessing tools when we distance ourselves from the creation that many non-Christians are trying to protect. Christians should be naturalists as they admire and draw inspiration and encouragement from God’s handiwork. The best tract ever written gets rewritten every day: creation.

I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the Gospel also to you who are at Rome. I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the Gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’ (Rom 1:14-17)

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. (italics mine) (Rom 1:18-20)

When we distance ourselves from creation, we leave people to come up with their own conclusions and the lifestyles that result. Worship the Creator and with admiration, be wise stewards of His creation. This means that we recycle, only take what we need, reuse and pass on material goods, and constantly give credit for creation to the Creator. If we keep His creation sharp and in focus, it is a powerful witnessing opportunity. If we don’t, He tells us what will happen.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator – who is forever praised. Amen. (Rom 1:21-25)

Our concern for these misinformed people should override any repulsion their actions might create. They are first and foremost another example of His creation that we need to do our best by.

The application of these convictions produces a Christian who is very green in an environmental sense but also one who is more loving and more influential for culture change and witnessing.

By being “green” we would also get “caught” doing some of the “good works” that we were created for. Churches should be known for their ability to utilize people’s resources to impact the world; through food and clothing banks, overseas mission trips that help in any area of need, and through a low carbon footprint as they recycle and reuse as much as possible. That always creates a positive platform for the Gospel.

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph 2:10)

For each of us, a season of evaluation and change will help prepare us to increase our impact with the resources that come our way. But never lose sight of the real treasure here on earth, the ultimate resource: people.

Mark Schaufler graduated with a degree in Environmental Science and has a Master of Arts in Biblical Literature. He is an author and the founder of Finish-the-Race.org, a youth ministry training program in the United States. He also started and is the CEO of MST Ministries, providing evangelistic preaching, training, and resources; leading over a hundred short term missions on six continents since 1984. Visit www.mstgo.com to find out more about Mark’s ministry.

The New International Version of the Bible has been referenced.