Loving God's world - Pt 3 (Idolatry of Greed)

In my last post, I wrote about some of the ways that non-Christian environmentalism can fall over into a kind of environmental idolatry. But that’s not the whole picture. Resisting that sort of idolatry is not the only way that we ought to stand out from the society around us.

Side by side with all this talk in our generation about looking after the environment, we continue as a culture to immerse ourselves ever more deeply in the idolatry of greed. As a society we have an insatiable appetite for comfort and possessions and experiences - an appetite that makes a mockery of our self-righteous pronouncements about caring for the planet.

According to Tanya Ha, a nuclear family living in LA make more claims on the environment that a whole village in Bangladesh does. And before we start pointing fingers at those crazy Americans it's worth remembering that (according to Planet Ark's figures, at any rate) it is we Australians who are the highest greenhouse gas emitters in the world, per person.

Our addiction to overseas travel, for example, is an environmental disaster: according to a recent study, “a return flight from Sydney to London emits the equivalent of nine tonnes of carbon dioxide per passenger... double the amount the world population on average produces each year [per head] through eating, driving and heating and cooling their home.”

The plasma TVs that we’re all rushing out to buy are apparently produced in a process that uses nitrogen trifluoride, a gas that is estimated to be 17,000 times as powerful as carbon dioxide in its contribution to global warming.

And as the planet gets warmer and we get wealthier the demand for air-conditioners goes up and up... and so the cycle goes round and round!

The Bible reminds us that as Christians we should stand out sharply from this sort of greed and consumerism. If we ‘love the world’ acquisitively like this, then the Bible says the love of God is not in us. So John writes in 1 John 2:15-17:

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

And Paul says something very similar in 1 Cor 7:29-31. The world we live in is passing away. As Colin Buchanan sings, “The stuff of this world is gonna be trash.” We Christians ought to be the ones who can see that more clearly than anyone.

Worshipping money, pleasure and comfort is no more Christian than worshipping rocks, trees and rivers. Greediolatry is as pagan as Greeniolatry! If Christians are liberated by the gospel from enslavement to all the toys, waste and accumulation of an unfettered consumer economy, then we should be standing out from our neighbours for the simplicity of our lifestyle.

If we’re rejecting over-consumption and practising godliness with contentment, we’ll actually be making decisions that look quite ‘environmental’. For example, Dave grew up with parents who would have been the last people in the world to call themselves greenies, but they were so careful with petrol and heating and water and packaged food and bought clothes and toys that in many ways they were accidental environmentalists.

I’ve been reading a book called Greeniology recently. It’s full of good ideas for living ‘green’ in everyday ways. It’s surprising how many the book's tips just make sense from a financial, non-materialistic perspective. If you use bicarb soda and vinegar to clean your house, you'll save money on cleaning products; if you turn down your thermostat, you'll reduce your electricity bill; if you buy your clothes second hand at op-shops, you'll slash your clothes budget... You get the idea!

So it's over to you: I'd love to hear some of the practical, creative ideas you've seen or tried out yourself that make for a less wasteful use of resources.

Pic from stockxchng.