The Story of Stuff ...

Social thinking is changing these days. Words like "sustainability," "green," and "local/organic" are becoming more and more of our vocabulary. Slowly, change is happening.

There are always those early adopters who hop on the bandwagon to see where this latest fad will take them. Then there are those who hang back to see if this is "sustainable," meaning will it last, or is it a flash in the pan. Then there are those who won't go until the majority of everyone is on board, and finally those who will never join, or will do so kicking and screaming.

The calls to treat our environment differently come from many corners...from genuinely concerned people, self-promoters, and even my local Market Street store (buy a green, reusable shopping bag and get 5 cents per bag off your total purchase). Behind all the alarms to treat our environment differently, I hear a basic word from God calling us back to our God-given work as humans -- to steward the environment (Genesis 1 and 2). God has placed us in charge of what surrounds us. And God gives us the freedom to determine how to use/steward what we have. Because God is love, God also turns us over to the consequences of our stewardship. Because we're such poor stewards in the end, God comes to rescue us in Jesus and set us right again.

We have a chance to change our direction for the good. Some are leading the charge, others are waiting to see how this shapes up (I'm more in this camp), and others are just going to wait until they absolutely have to join us in a redeemed stewardship. Here's a link to a little video that gets you thinking about where all the stuff we use/consume comes from and the hidden cost of our consumption. The story of stuff...

My thoughts about the video -- it's fast, fact-filled, sometimes too simplistic in its estimations, but it gets the job done of revealing what is at stake currently.

And if you've ever wondered about where your keyboard ends up when you throw it out...check out this Time article, here.

Stimulating God's Economy:

It seems that Americans will soon receive some kind of rebate check as a way to stimulate the American economy away from it's downward trend. News agencies are beginning the hype of just how exactly consumers will save the day with more spending. CNN reported that consumer spending makes up 70% of the economy. Who knew Slim Jims and Slurpees could do so much for us on my daily commute?

I can't imagine how my buying a new flat screen TV will help the economy any further. I can imagine what God could do with the extra cash flow that I was counting on this year. I propose we exercise our work in 'patriotic stewardship' and use the money to stimulate ministry in God's economy of the kingdom. Consider this an opportunity to live the parable of the talents. Read the parable here for a quick upload.

Let's do some quick math. If the average person is to receive $600, what could be done with it? I've got some ideas for you.

#1a) I hear that in Haiti, people are eating dirt cookies for less than 5 cents to survive. Read the story here. If you're moved by it, donate some of your entrusted talents to the Haitian Timoun Foundation. I just returned from a trip to Haiti with this organization. They're equipping Haitians to lead Haiti out of its desperate situation. And the ones who are leading the charge are the children. A donation to them means kids eating dinner at night and having a place to go so they don't have to turn tricks on the streets.

#1b) Find a Seminarian and sponsor her for the month. Send your money her way so that she doesn't have to dig deeper into debt to lead God's people in the future.

#1c) Send it to the scholarship fund of your alma mater. I received scholarship moneies from my alma mater (Go Mustangs!), and it meant a lot to me at the time. It meant my not having to graduate with debt for an undergrad degree. Having others in a situation where they're not as confined by debt as we are is just as good for the economy as you buying that la-z-boy.

#1d) Sponsor a youth going on a mission trip this summer. His life will be changed greatly by the experience. Who knows what seed will be planted and will blossom later in his life? Your money could make it possible.

#2) Pay down the debt you owe and cut up your credit cards. (let me take the log out of my own eye here). We owe too much as a nation. We spend more than we earn. Here's a nifty little site that shows how you rate with the average home.

#3) Invest and add to it. Let's say you invest the $600 in a 4.25% interest bearing account. You also get the great idea to add to it every month with a modest amount of $20. (That's about 3.27 Chipotle burritos). In 10 years, you'd have $3881. In 20 years, you'd have $8856. In 30 years, you'd have $16,399.

You could do all of these by splitting your money up. You could do only one of them. You could do a combination of them. It's up to you. But, THINK before getting that next TV of what real stimulus in God's economy would look like.

From an article at Rolling Stone of one highly influential scientist's view of our world in the next 100 years ...

"I wish I could say that wind turbines and solar panels will save us," {James} Lovelock responds. "But I can't. There isn't any kind of solution possible. There are nearly 7 billion people on the planet now, not to mention livestock and pets. If you just take the CO2 of everything breathing, it's twenty-five percent of the total --four times as much CO2 as all the airlines in the world. So if you want to improve your carbon footprint, just hold your breath. It's terrifying. We have just exceeded all reasonable bounds in numbers. And from a purely biological view, any species that does that has a crash."

Read the full article here.

Here's another quote from him: "I would sooner expect a goat to succeed as a gardener than expect humans to become stewards of the Earth."