seeking restoration of sustainable life... personally, professionally, & spiritually
Here we are coming up to Halloween again. The health issues behind the candy were the focus of my post on Halloween candy last year. But this year, there’s a whole ‘nother level to consider…
I don’t even have to write much (which is good cause I’m on hiatus!). You can just read what Kristen wrote over at Good Food on this issue.
Child Slaves Made Your Halloween Candy. Stop Buying It.
Sigh… Something about seek justice…
Written after the fact and back dated… Yup, I skipped posting for weeks 2 & 3 in September. Busy busy with adjusting to school schedules and finishing up a big project. Not going to worry about making up those posts. Will just let ’em go and catch y’all next month on the home business and deeper why topics. As many of you know, my deeper whys can be summed up in the name ‘God,’ and He’s telling me to just relax and let it go… Do what I can do and don’t sweat the rest. 
Will hopefully get week 4 done for September, then enjoy the 5th Friday off and see you again on or around October 7th. Cheers!
The other day, I was reading that beautiful ‘Do Not Worry’ passage in Matthew 6. To paraphrase and sum it up: Jesus says, “If you’re seeking my kingdom today, right now in every moment, you don’t need to worry about the future. It will take care of itself and you will have what you need.”
God created this world to sustain life for generation after generation, and He put us in charge of stewarding its ability to continue doing so. In all our modern progress, and often times, our attempts to live life independently of God, we’ve kinda lost sight of this incredible gift and responsibility.
In discussions around sustainability, there can be great temptation for worry and fear about the future. There can be lots of focus on what’s going wrong and what is so unsustainable about our current realities. Some shudder and ask, ‘What happens when this system crashes?’
And that’s a valid question. The Bible has a lot to say about what happens when the system crashes. But even in the midst of prophetic passages that seem terrible and wrathful, there is great love underpinning it all. And that love can move us past fear into faith-filled action. With great hope, we need to ‘seek first’ His kingdom.
How do we do that? Two other passages come to mind.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).
If we are truly drawing closer and closer to God, then our hearts are increasingly changed to love. Not the emotion-based definition of the word that our culture seems to use most often, but rather the commitment-, sacrifice-, and action-based definition of love that Jesus used. As we love, we begin to see more and more needs around us and are motivated to begin asking tough questions about our own choices. As we begin to see the injustices underpinning so much of modern life – the unsustainable systems that many of us have been blinded to for years – we begin to make changes one at a time to live differently. As we walk humbly, knowing fully well that we are nowhere near perfect ourselves, we begin to lovingly and mercifully encourage and empower others to begin living differently also, without judging them or condemning them.
Guilt and fear can never be a destination on our journey, or even a resting point. Getting stuck in guilt and fear can lead to all sorts of problems. Nor can they be weapons to use against other people. Their only useful purposes are fulfilled if they are rooted in God’s love and open our eyes to some truth around us, moving us onward toward always seeking God’s kingdom of love and hope.
Reading Matthew Sleeth’s book, “Serve God, Save the Planet,” was transformational for me and for our family. As I poured through the chapters, it was as if everything that I’d been sensing, thinking, and learning on some semi-conscious level for years suddenly came to more vibrant life. I think I could literally feel neurons in my brain firing all over the place as everything God had taught me or molded into my being to date began to connect and forge stronger, more cohesive bonds. I am still in awe of how it all fits together, and how He is continuing to piece it all together and teach me more.
This “green” journey really is a never ending one – there is always so much more to learn in this amazingly complex and beautiful world. A funny analogy came to my head the other day when I was trying to describe the present state of my brain to my husband who so patiently helps me sort through all my thoughts. You know those multi-colored yarns, where 6 inches or so of color suddenly turns into a 6-inch section of another color and so on? It’s as if each unique color is a different topic, category, compartment, issue, interest, hobby, passion, or gifting that God has put into my life and being – but it’s all one continuous yarn. And right now, especially during this joyous and crazy season of loving and nurturing preschool aged children, it often feels like my yarn ball is sitting in a jumbled, useless heap; however, I know that God is working to weave it into the bigger tapestry of His global story of restoration.
Like the Sleeths, we are finding greater depth and connection with God, people, and all of creation through this journey of creation care and downward mobility, but they are definitely better at communicating the experience than we are because they are much farther along the path! I highly recommend checking out their books, their Blessed Earth ministry website, and/or their story in this video below. If you’re in the SJ/Philly area this summer and want to join us for a book club discussion on “Serve God, Save the Planet,” click here for details.
Matthew Sleeth’s Creation Care Journey from Matthew Sleeth on Vimeo.
I always want to be very careful about how I say this, and I hope you’ll hear me out, but I believe that the recession has been one of the biggest blessings that our country needed. OK, before you think I’m totally crazy, let me explain…
I do not in any way wish to downplay the real hardships that people are facing right now. They are significant and at times overwhelming, no doubt. However, have you noticed the good that is coming out of all this? There is so much good happening. Here are just a handful in no particular order other than as they come to my mind.
1- People are walking away from the pursuit of stuff.
2- People are reconnecting with God’s green earth and its provision for us.
3- People are realizing the unsustainability of our consumer-crazy culture.
4- People are more carefully evaluating their spending, focusing on quality not quantity.
5- People are reducing and reusing more, instead of just recycling and throwing away.
6- People are becoming more conscious of negative environmental impacts on their health.
7- People are plugging back into to community and sharing more.
8- People are returning to entrepreneurship.
9- People are regaining time with family.
10- People are turning back to their faith.
In our household, we are on an intentional journey of what we like to call “downward mobility.” Do we own a home-based business? Yes. Do we desire to grow that business as large as the Lord allows? Yes. Do we do it for our own gain? Only partly. Our take on business and entrepreneurship is this: it is a way for God to meet our needs and then bless others through us. At the same time as we are growing a business, we are seeking to reduce what we consider to be our needs. By intentionally learning to live with less and less, we are finding a deeper connection to God, family, community, and the earth, and we are creating space for God to pour out even greater blessing to others through us. Instead of focusing on wanting more and striving in our business to attain those new heights of material living, we are focusing on wanting: less stuff, more meaningful connections with people, and for God to grow our business to the extent that He wants to position us to be a blessing to others in the future.
And we are so thankful for how God has used this perspective to put up a strong shield around our hearts and minds during a recession.
Buying local is a hot – and very important – topic. From what I can tell, people generally want to buy local for one of two primary reasons: environmental or economical. They either want to decrease the environmental burden placed on the earth due to business operations such as manufacturing, warehousing, long distance shipping, and consumer activity, or they want to support their local and national economies. Or better yet, both.
I wholeheartedly agree that buying local is important, particularly when it comes to the health benefits of locally grown organic foods. But interestingly, did you know that it is actually possible, albeit perhaps rather uncommon, for companies halfway around the world to be even more beneficial to both the planet and local economies? Seems odd, doesn’t it? Whether they are a local, national, or international enterprise, take the time to ask deeper questions about any company’s environmental and business practices, and you just may be surprised by what you discover.
What is the best example I’ve personally seen and can offer you of this seemingly backwards phenomenon?
When I first stumbled upon the company whose personal care products I have chosen for my family based on a great deal of research (and for whom I now also do consulting work), their location in another country across the globe was a concern to me. But when I did more digging to verify their environmental and business practices with third-party sources, I was shocked to find that the seriousness with which this company takes its environmental and social responsibilities as a global organization could actually make their products a better choice even from so far away.
As just two quick environmental examples: green manufacturing and green transport. Miessence runs their manufacturing and warehousing facilities on wind power for zero emissions, and they work with a non-profit reforestation organization to plant trees in excess of what they would need to plant to merely offset their own global shipping burden. In effect, they are doing more than their share, thus helping offset the excess impact from the many companies who do little or nothing to offset their eco-footprints. In addition to being the first brand in the world to achieve personal care products certified organic to food grade standards, which supports organic farmers around the globe, they were also the first personal care and wellness company to achieve carbon negative business operations. This really impressed me. When I go to a local store to make a purchase of any kind, how often is the total ecological footprint – including the manufacturing, warehousing, and shipping of goods to retail stores, plus the impact of my own drive to the store – actually offset in its entirety and then some?
And what about economically speaking? There are two parts to this in the case of Miessence, and you can apply similar principles and questions to any company whose goods, of any kind, you are considering. First, Miessence bolsters the global economy by supporting national economies all over the world via the ethical, fair-trade sourcing of their certified organic ingredients. From my perspective as a US citizen, therefore, I was glad to learn that many of the ingredients they use, particularly in their superfood products, are sourced from the US, thereby supporting our farmers who are committed to organic, sustainable agriculture. (And of course, this is actually a double benefit to both the economy and environment.)
Secondly, let’s talk about job creation. Are there companies from whom you could choose to buy online with little or no benefit to your local economy, and who contribute a limited number of jobs often in only one location? Sure. But there are also socially progressive companies structured in such a way as to bring business empowerment and work opportunities onto the ground in whatever country or state they operate. In my opinion, this was another huge benefit of Miessence – they have the potential to provide hundreds or even thousands of meaningful work opportunities, part or full time, for people in regions all across the country and globe. And now more than ever, with US unemployment at record highs, every new opportunity for fulfilling work created here in our country, states, and neighborhoods, whether from a local or international company, is a significant benefit.
As I prepare for my booth at a local “Creation Celebration” event tomorrow, I find myself wondering why some (not all, but some) Christians are so apathetic toward the green movement. Some are even downright antagonistic toward it. Someone I spoke with recently said that she had visited a church where the pastor was openly attacking – not respectfully questioning or lovingly pointing out potential concerns – anything having to do with choosing a greener lifestyle. I don’t get it…
Wasn’t mankind’s first charge from God to steward well the earth which He has lovingly provided to sustain life throughout generations? Doesn’t Jesus say to ‘care for the least of these’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself’ (who, by Jesus’ definition, is everyone including our enemies) as tangible expressions of our love for God?
Below is a string of quotes from one of my favorite authors, Matthew Sleeth:
“The earth was designed to sustain every generation’s needs, not to be plundered in an attempt to meet one generation’s wants” (p.18). “The ‘consumer lifestyle’ demands an enormous amount of work, worry, strife, and struggle by instilling a deep sense of longing and discontent” (p.20). “Being pro-stewardship is not a case of valuing forests more than people; rather, it means valuing human possessions less and God’s world more” (p.35). “God created the earth, and if we do not respect the earth and all of its creatures, we disrespect God” (p.36). “Environmental concerns are intimately tied to issues of poverty, health, and compassion” (p.40)… And I could go on. Point is, the green movement is 100% compatible with the Christian faith and God’s work of healing and renewal for the whole earth and all its people.
Whether you are a Christian yourself, or you have Christian friends with whom you’d like to discuss green lifestyle issues to help them see its major benefits to all aspects of holistic human health, including spiritual health, I highly recommend the book, “Serve God, Save the Planet,” by Matthew Sleeth, MD.