enviroethics

Christian Vocation: Serving the Environment

At the heart of the Christian faith is obedience and service to God. This service is not a specific requirement, but a chosen and accepted obligation. Our obedience to God is our ?calling?, to service. This ?call? contains dual levels. First is our ?call? to follow
Christ, to ?pick up the Cross? so to speak. More simply it is our call to the faith. Secondly, is our call to service to others, the rest of humanity. This call is often referred to as our ?vocation?. We are to love God by way of showing love and compassion for our neighbor. While I believe whole heartedly in this ideal, I believe that this current Christian ideology stops short. I feel that we need to make our service more inclusive, not be limited to humankind. We need to extend our service to the entirety of God?s creation.   The world outside of humanity is in dire need of our service and the recognition of our call to the environment is long overdue.
I will set forth some of my ideas as to what a true vocation incorporates.   Much in the way of Martin Luther, I find value in even the most remedial work. Service to others is above all other characteristics of vocation with the exception of love for God. ?Treat others as you would have others treat you.? Christ?s teachings should act as a model for those trying to determine their calling. The work itself may not bring significant meaning to one?s life, but working can and should. To know that one is feeding ones family can bring feeling of worth to the soul. Working as a trashman or a check-out clerk may not be the most satisfying position, but one can find solace in knowing that one is serving others and are doing it for the good of society. While one person may see an assembly line job attaching mufflers to a car as dull, mundane and for the most part meaningless, another may find complete fulfillment in such work. What I see as fulfilling and worthwhile will more likely than not conflict, at least to some degree, with others idea of the same.
The main intention of Christian Vocation is this: service to others. Serving others mimics the teachings of Christ and therefore becomes a cornerstone of the Christian Ethic. I would like to introduce an idea of ethics; the Christian social obligation. This idea is based on service to the community. The Christian has an obligation, so to speak, to act on behalf of the good of society. This obligation should not become binding as in a more traditional sense of the word, but should come naturally without thought or hesitation. This inherent feeling of obligation to others is a result of faith in God. Luther sets forth that grace comes through faith alone and not through works. He allows for works to follow faith. Among these works Luther stresses the importance of serving the neighbor. We are to serve all neighbors not only an individual neighbor. Not to imply that more directed service is misguided, but for the purpose of this paper I would like to focus on the communal aspect of service to others.
Thus far I have looked briefly at service to others in the way of helping other people, here I will add another level of understanding to this idea: the earth community. The human population most often is the focus when we talk about service to others, however I believe that the whole of the earth community should be looked at when we discuss service and care for others. All members of the earth, animal and plant, all creations of God, should fall into the category of worthiness of Christians? care. After all, we are God?s stewards and are obligated to take care of creation in the same manner God would. As Christians? we have an obligation to protect, preserve and care for the earth as part of God?s creation.

?As the lover knows and remembers the smallest details of
the body of her beloved, so too we who love the earth
strive to fathom its secrets and divulge its beauty.?


Before we are able to start preserving the earth and life as we have come to know, we must first learn to recognize God?s creation. After we see the beauty in all things only then will we be able to attempt to stop the environmental destruction. As Christians we need to develop a new understanding and realize that the depth and delicacy of the earth is crucial to knowing, worshipping and praising God. We have so many things to thank God for, but we often time leave out the gift of the world, creation and our responsibility of stewardship to it. Lately focus has shifted away from the life we live to the life we expect after death. Soelle writes, ?It is often far easier to for us to trust in the conventional certainty of a life after death than in a life of participation in God?s ongoing good creation before we die.? We must become active participants in the world. First to recognize its beauty and secondly to realize the necessity to protect its longevity. This stance becomes a supplement to the idea of social obligation. To put atheistics before ones neighbor may not be directly following the Christian humanist ideal, however, if the outcome is positive, and we can promote environmentalism, the reasoning may become less important. If the only way to convince people, believers and non-believers alike, to preserve the earth is for its physical beauty then that is what we should do. For at the same time the present and future human populations will be set up for better living. Christians need to bring attention to the physical wonderment and goodness that the earth is. The ends will justify the means. The idea of preserving the earth as an end in itself can be addressed in much the same way as vocations involving the arts.
(the following paragraph has been taken from an previous response paper )
An artist creates, not for the direct benefit of others, but for the work itself. This is not to say that other will not benefit indirectly from the artist?s creation. Art can inspire, evoke feelings of joy and express reverence. Expression of thanks and the beauty of God can be seen in art forms. Art and music are the most profound methods of expressing ones love of God. This point is made in nearly all places of worship and in nearly all worship services. Stained glass windows, paintings, and sculptures are in most churches and cathedrals, and hymns and music are a large part of most services. Music and art are full of emotion and passion and are able to draw strong feelings from people. In fact I would compare art and song to the emotional power of a sunset or a mountaintop or a lightening storm. Preserving that sunset or the pristine of the mountaintop is of equal import and respectability (if not more) as an artist creating a painting or a conductor leading an orchestra. I want to emphasize that a call to the environment is a valid calling, and preservation may be seen in the same light as an artist. We need to recognize our call and be aware that a call to express oneself and one?s love for God and her/ his ability to create, is the call to preserve the environment is a call to express ones love of God by acting in favor of God?s good and beautiful creation. This illustrates the specific call, giving the theological ?O.K.?, so to speak, for a vocation in the direction of environmentalism. As important as the specific call is, a large amount of effort should be allocated on defining and bringing an understanding of the general call of all Christians to the earth.
It is critical that we recognize the value of the earth. In the creation story, all things were made before man and were ?good? in God?s eye. We need to understand and respect God?s creation. Respect is important, however the term ?understanding? may imply that we know God or God?s creation, what we need is to know that we cannot fully understand. We need to recognize our humility in comparison to the omnipotence of God. The feelings produced by the unkownable, the feeling of awe has been present throughout not only Christian history, but in all religions. As our technology and scientific knowledge advance, some of the power of the unknown gets lost. This does not mean that we should give up science or give up religion, but we need to learn to recognize those things that still give us the feelings of God?s mystery and omnipotence. Apart from the unknown, we need to see what we do know and what we do have and be reverent towards all of God?s creation, large and small. From high mountains to delicate flowers, there is beauty, whether it comes from feelings of powerlessness or simply from a magnificent design, there is beauty.
God is Love, and as Christians we need to wholly embody that love. After God we need to find love for others, people and all things of Gods great creation. ?Art and morals are, with certain provisos?one. Their essence is the same. The essence of both of them is to love. Love is the perception of individuals. Love is the extremely difficult realization that something other than oneself is real. Love, and so art and morals, is the discovery of reality.? This is a very important part of knowing the earth and knowing the need to embody the uniqueness and reality of the earth. In seeing this, we gain something, we come to love the earth and all of the wonderful differences that make up the world. Only when we begin to look upon the world with this knowing and interested way will we start to see what we are to do and how we are to act. ?The loving eye knows the independence of the other? It is the eye of one who knows that to know the seen, one must consult something other than ones own will and interests and fears and imagination.? Developing this ?eye? becomes entirely important in the realization and loving understanding of creation.
??Love God -and your neighbor; on those two commandments hang
all the Law and the Prophets.? The catch in it, which nowadays the
world has largely forgotten, is that the second commandment depends
upon the first, and without the first, it is a delusion and a snare. Much
of our present trouble and disillusionment have come from putting the
second commandment before the first. If we put our neighbor first, we
are putting man above God.?

Dorothy Sayers reaches an incredible theological issue with this statement. Serving God should, no must be our prime intention in work and calling. We need to have nothing but the purest intentions in our work. Serve the work, not humanity. By serving the work as an end in and of itself we are focusing all energy on an end that will be wholly good not only for the work, but for the neighbor as well. Aiming at anything but a job well done could be misleading and produce something other than wholly good. In reaching an end that has been misguided, the work will not be good and work that is not good is beneficial to neither God nor the neighbor. When we take the focus off the work itself and our motivation shifts to the neighbor we in turn look for some means of compensation for our work. In this day and age the chase of monetary gain has largely taken priority to the work that is being done for the pay. Once again with the focus taken away from the work, the work and the job being done will suffer.

Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your judgments are like the great deep;
you save humans and animals alike, O Lord.
         Psalms 36:10

In Christianity, text can be and has been manipulated in a number of ways to fulfill a variety of personal ideals and benefits. In interpreting Biblical text we must decide which interpretation is closest to the will of God. We don?t have to look far however to see scripture that speaks of God showing love for and being with His creation. I would like to look at the parable of the talents, Matthew 25: 14-30. The story begins with a master summoning his three slaves before he leaves for a long journey. He entrusts his property to them, to the first slave he gave five talents, the second two talents and the third he gave one talent. While their master was away, the slave given five talents traded and invested and gained five more talents, the slave with two did the same and gained two more talents, but the slave give one talent buried the money. When the master returned He saw what the first two slaves had done and said, ?You, have been trustworthy in few things, you will be put in charge of many things.? To the slave who hid the his talent the master was upset and scolded him for not investing and being wise with what was given to him, by saying, ?So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing even what they have will be taken away.? and the slave was thrown into the ?outer darkness?. We should look at this parable as an example of how we should act toward God and the environment. Not so far as we, humanity, being slaves, or God being our harsh and punishing master, but to far as the earth is something in which God has entrusted to us for our ?temporary? care. Not only should we live in the earth but also respect it and treat it in such a way that God would. Investing in the earth for its longevity, being ready for the complete return of the earth to God?s possession. ?Indeed, the whole earth is mine.? (Exodus 19: 5) God has entrusted the earth to us, and when the Day of Judgment comes, when God reclaims His property, only if we have treated and carried on the prosperity of the earth will we be granted entitlement to the New Kingdom. ?You have been trustworthy in few things, you will be put in charge of many things.? Being the many good things in Gods New Kingdom.
This parable, of the slaves and talents, is a perfect example of how we, as Christians should act in light of our environment, God?s creation. Surely we cannot deny responsibility of God?s possession. We must accept the task as a great honor bestowed on us by God. We have been borrowed a great gift, to enjoy, to use, and to invest for our future and for the future as the Kingdom of Heaven. We need only look around to see that we have been given a heaven to live in, all we, as the human race, needs is provided for. God has entrusted us with few things, the earth, and if we act properly and consider our earth ethics, we will be put in charge of many, the Kingdom of Heaven.
In this light we must respect our duty to the earth, this should come as direct result to our respecting and loving God. We must understand that God is most likely a rational being, or non-being for that matter, and would not create something was not wholly to his liking. With this in mind we must take develop an outlook of Love of God is love of earth. The whole world is God?s and the two become active together. ??Do I not fill the Heaven and earth?? says the Lord.? (Jeremiah 23:24) The answer is a resounding ?YES?. The Lord is in, around, and throughout the entire earth and its entities. The earth was created and then given to man to tend as means to survive and prosper. God has given us the earth in which we may live it is our home. ?If we belong here, if the earth is truly our home, then it only follows that we take care of it.? Man was not Gods first priority, the earth and all other living things were created before man, however, one must also look at the possibility that the earth was in preparation of man. Even if the earth were intended solely for the purposes of man, it would have to be intended for all mankind past, present, and future.
W are bound in a relationship with the earth and the rest of humanity and the Holy Spirit is the connector, threaded through all aspects of living and being. This relationship was not one of our choice, but of our Creator. God gave us the gift of life. Without the earth we would have no hope, no chance of life. Humanity is dependent on the earth and now, the earth is dependent on humanity for its prosperity. We need to answer the call of our home, a call for awareness and right action. Our engagement is not simply with the planet, but with all members and with a force that moves through all of the entities of creation. Our relationship is not one of disposability, a ?one-night-stand?, it is a monogamous relationship of give and take. We cannot get around the fact that we are here and will be here for a long time. We need to become the good partner in the relationship with the earth, taking care of its needs and learning not over exploit its many resources. Perhaps this metaphor of our relationship, is not an accurate one.   The more traditional idea of a gardener and a garden may have more potential. However, in defense of my image, I will point out the intimacy of the human/ earth relationship. The planet is much more than a mere garden. We cannot act, on any level without having some effect on the earth. The earth and humanity act integrally with one another. The cloth of creation is woven with an infinite variety of threads. If one strand is pulled from that cloth the entirety of creation will be offset. The responsibility we have been given runs deep. To learn to love, and care in a relational way will enable us to embody the earth and all of creation, the physical expression of Gods grace and beauty.
At any level of calling we can recognize our duty to God and the earth. On a specific level, we know that expressing love for God, is a definitive attribute of a person?s ?call?. More so, to show and carry out that love through actions that are specifically for the good of nature, are truly honorable. On the general Call of the Christian, we are to show love and to give thanks and praise to God. It only follows that we are to do this by loving Gods creation, his gift to humanity. It is our treatment of the world that we have been given in this life that set precedent for our life in the World to come.
Bibliograpy

Luther, Martin. Luther?s Works Vol. 45: Christian in Society II. 1523 Translated by J.J. Schindel( Philedelphia: Fortress Press 1962)

McFague, Sallie. The Body of God, an Ecologoical Theology. (Minneapolis: Augsberg
Fortress Press 1993)

Murdoch, Iris. ?The Sublime and the Good,? Chicago Review 13(Autumn 1959) p. 51

Sayers, Dorothy L. Creed or Chaos? (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1949)

Soelle, Dorothee. To Work and To Love: A Theology of Creation (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984)