I have been reading a book named Serve God, Save the Planet: A Christian Call to Action by J. Sleeth and find it very inspiring. No, no, Mr. Sleeth is not a mormon and a mormon like me can read what ever I want, as long as it's inspiring, pure-intended, and advocating good tidings. And this book is one of this kind. J. Sleeth worked as a chief of ER for probably at least few decades and used to live in a big house with his family. He was (and probably still is) rich and enjoyed satisfying him and his family with fulfilling all of their material needs. Then he realized they were exhausting the earthly resource by only feeding their desires unthoughtfully. He wondered if this is the way of God. The answer was obvious and he decided to make a change. He quitted his job, downsized his home, figured out tons of ways to do good for the environment, and devoted to serving others. The most inspiring part of his story is that he really turned his thoughts into actions and that's the part matters the most. Merely thinking about good thoughts is not enough. If Jesus Christ only thought about how he loved us instead of actually dying on the cross for us, we would not have had the chance to repent of our sins and hopefully one day return back to our heavenly father. He acted upon his love for us.
Sleeth cited God's commandment-"love thy neighbors"- as the GOLDEN RULE and developed several arguments after it. He points out how we being the stewards of the earth doesn't mean we are allowed to exploit the environment as we wish. This earth is God's creation and we are living herein. We really need to show more respect and responsibility to this world, in turn, we will be able to love our neighbors, including lovely animals, planets, and all other creatures living around us, in actions. I know I'm guilty of it. Although I've been aware of what I'm supposed to do to improve the environment, I am not recycling anything. When I was living in BG, different kinds of recycling bins were just half a mile away and I wasn't doing my part diligently. Now I'm living in a city without recycling bins and policy and I don't even now how to do it now. I'm still using antibacterial soaps which is accused of polluting our water resource just because they're cheap.
Well, maybe I shouldn't turn this article into a full-fledged confession. I came to realize that there still a lot needs to be done and I need to do more. Reading Sleeth's book also made me realize how blessed we all are! He once asked a class of 5th (or 6th?) graders if they think they are rich. Most of the students didn't think they were. Then Sleeth asked how many of them had telephones, televisions, computers, and cars at home and if they have ridden in a plane. All of the students nodded to the possession of those items and only two of them haven't flown before. Sleeth said, by this standard, you're on the top 20 % richest people of the earth. I never thought about it. I always think I might be on the bottom of the society since I'm unemployed and my husband is still just working part-time. We're not making much money. Yet when I really open my eyes and look around, I have had a lot. I am living in a cozy, new-furnished beautiful house and I have a husband who loves me dearly. Both of us are able to receive college education and I even have two master's. We have people who love us around and most importantly, we have the gospel. We're fed with good food and I have free wireless internet access so that I can sit in my comfy queen-sized bed and write an entry on my blog. I think I would be condemned if I consider these blessings are not enough. I think I have had much. I think I need to do more, serve more, and I want to pray for more courage and strength to turn my thought into actions. I don't want to be a hypocrite.
Just like what Sleeth says in his book, let's think about whether this brings us closer to God before doing it. I believe the holy spirit will testify the truth to us so that we'll have wisdom to take care of this earth better. I would like to challenge myself to be a more attentive person when it comes to our environment, and hopefully I will remember it always.
No comments:
Post a Comment