The Wisdom is in the Trees not the Glass Windows

I dropped some cardboard off at the “Sold Waste Management Facility” the other day. I think that is what the conservative republican West Texan’s here in Bush country call recycling centers so they can convince themselves that they are not really recycling, just “managing solid waste” so they aren’t accused of hugging trees or confused with being environmentalist war hating democrats like Kerry and those Dixie Chicks they kicked out of their state. But that is just my theory. Anyway, there at the “recycling center in disguise”, I met a man named Cliff, who worked there. He wasn’t good at talking, but he said a lot of interesting things. His real name is Clifford, but his friends call him Cliff. He told me I could call him Tom. That’s his middle name. He said it’s easier to remember than Cliff because all I’ll have to do is remember my favorite drink the “Tom Collins”. I’ve never had whisky or gin or whatever is in the “Tom Collins” cocktail, but I remembered Cliff and Tom because that was quite the introduction. I won’t forget his office either. Looked like a storage shed without a door. In the process of giving me directions to another recycling center closer to my house, he took me inside to show me around his place. “Lookit here,” he said, drawing my attention to the news program he had on. “I fixed that television someone threw away. And watch this,” he turned on a fan, “Works like brand new. And this here’s my new fridge I pulled out of the junk pile…” With joy he proceeded to show me functioning appliance after appliance that someone had thrown away as junk.

I’ve thought about Cliff’s trash treasure for a couple weeks now, and I just finally finished reading Ron Cider’s book, Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger (I think he made it really long on purpose so the Truth inside would be harder to forget). Before Paul and Amanda Stonehouse, SEEDS, and Townhouse 602, recycling meant nothing more to me than the memory of how the couple bucks I got back for aluminum made up for the few minutes my Dad made me smash cans on Saturday mornings when I was kid. I know now that it is about more than pocket change and even political parties. There are deeper issues—the sins of materialism and consumerism. Materialism hates God’s people. Consumerism hates God’s creation. I hope to write more on materialism in a couple days, but here I want to talk about the trash heaps we are producing.

Its about 100 pounds a week added to the landfills for every American family. Imagine the devastating effect on our environment that will create for future generations if we continue this pattern. Where will all that trash go? Many Christians would say, “I don’t know and I don’t care. I’ve got more eternal things to think about.”

But I think we should know and we should care, because it has a lot to do with eternity.

God reveals his greatness through His creation. Have we deemphasized the power of nature in the salvation process as the Church? I think so. And I would suggest that recycling is a powerful means of evangelism. Stewardship of our planet gives the opportunity for people to know the Creator. Yes I know that we are saved in community, that people are more important than trees, and that God will someday destroy this earth. But God put us in a garden for a reason. He gave us the Rockies, the Atlantic, and Big Dipper for a reason. He was trying to say something about Himself. What else could describe the extent of God’s love than the immeasurable distant to the heavens, and His faithfulness than the vast skies. Without the mountains to what could we compare His righteousness? Besides the ocean depths, what could capture His justice (See Psalm 36)?
Sure, if there was no beauty left on earth, we would still have His Word and we would still have His presence when we gather. But would we still know His greatness? Would we forget how big He was? What would our view of God be like if we could no longer gaze up at the stars at night because a thick layer of smog was blocking our view. Or if we could no longer see a sunset, because a new landfill was placed in our back yard? Or if we could no longer walk with Him in the woods because there no longer are any forests?

“The wisdom is in trees not the glass windows” (Jack Johnson).

So recycle your cans, ride your bike, simplify, plant a tree, vote environmentally conscience, next time you go to park bring a garbage bag, and quit buying soon to be obsolete crap you don’t really need that will soon end up in the dumpster. Take a hike, visit a National Park (like the Grand Canyon with a couple guys named Tim and Phil), dance under the stars, smotch your lady during a sunset, climb a mountain, or watch storm. And when you tell that awesome God or yours that you can’t get used to Him, remember that it is Him, the Creator, who made you, loves you, and wants to have a relationship with you.

For more ideas read Rich Christians in Age of Hunger or visit www.sierraclub.com. Be creative and befriend your neighborhood recycling center worker.