Missions & The Environment
Mission is in the context of witness. Witness comes from giving up control to Jesus to experience fully the personal and universal reality that is God. And that means approaching the world with God-directed faithfulness.
A lot of air time and ink has been spilled on the changing climate. Some refuse to believe any climate change is man-made, while others refute climate change altogether. From a missional perspective, what we believe on those issues are red herrings to what we're to do, regardless of warming or cooling. So let's unpack this Biblically:
1. There is no "gaia" mother earth. That is pagan nonsense. We are not just a part of nature, we have dominion over it.
2. How we exercise dominion (i.e., what characteristics we choose to display despite power dynamics) matters. It is why kind parents are lauded and abusive parents are abhorred. Both remain parents. But how they exercise their parenting (patience, wisdom, kindness, LOVE, etc.) matters. And it especially matters to God.
3. Our first God-given task (pre-Fall) was to name and care for the Eden over which we were given dominion.
4. Is it possible that humankind can mess up the environment? Of course it is. We messed up the universe with a simple act of rebellion. Imagine what we can do over time, with technologies used for selfish reasons, and a desire to be God with rebelliousness of heart. Is it far-fetched that humankind could contribute to a change for worse in our environment? Hardly. We've already done it.
5. A part of our witness to the world lies in the way we approach the world. We love our enemies, our neighbors, and seek for God's best for others...even when they're bent on destroying themselves. It's hard to talk about grace if we're ungracious. It's hard to talk about restoration and care if we're callous and indifferent.
Will the earth ever make it out of it's deteriorating state? Not until a new heaven and a new earth. Why not just let it go and live in a dump until Jesus returns and the old passes away? (It is, after all, an uphill battle). Because God commands us to do what is right in the face of injustice, to care where we used to be indifferent, to cultivate where we used to destroy, and to love the creation He loves (not more than humankind, but loves nonetheless because He created the environment in which we live and called it, "good").
Therefore, missions brings with it an understanding of cause and effect, of our relationship with our environment, and our place within our environment. We choose to be kind not because we have to, but because with our power to abuse, we choose kindness. This is a universal, human struggle. We cannot deify the environment, nor pretend we're just merely another evolved aspect of it. Rather, we must see our role as God sees it, proclaim that among the nations, role up our sleeves, and live according His values.
The Christian isn't an activist first and Christian second. Instead, we are under the Lordship of Jesus, and by that Lordship, we actively proclaim and live by His priorities and values in the world. In doing so, we show that despite the slide of sin, redemption and hope exist by His leading and our pursuit of His leadership.
