A TLP Snippet 6: Sanctified Sustainability, Your Family, and Earth Day

Welcome to this TLP snippet, Parenting Wisdom in 5 Minutes or Less. I'm your host, A .M. Brewster, and today is Earth Day. But does that matter? Is Earth Day a thing that Christians should embrace? Should we be celebrating it?

Sanctified Sustainability and Christian Stewardship

My short answer is, why not? Of course, like everything else in our lives, we need to do it in the right way for the right reasons. In episode 47, I introduced the concept of sanctified sustainability.

I encourage you to listen to it so you can not only learn about the benefits of sanctified sustainability, but about how embracing that lifestyle can help your kids know God better. But in light of today's discussion, I'll sum up the basic precepts of sanctified sustainability.

Worship God, Not Nature

Number one, worship God, don't worship nature. If you're going to enjoy Earth Day, enjoy it to God's honor and glory. You could plant a garden or a tree or just spend some time in nature, letting it proclaim the glory of God.

Spend some time in prayer and thank Him for the amazing planet He's given us. Number two, you could redeem your possessions, don't waste them. Today might be a great day to start a compost bin. Perhaps you can make some energy efficient upgrades to your home.

Redeeming Possessions and Avoiding Waste

Instead of spending your money on things that will be in the trash tomorrow, you could invest in products that will last, like a stainless steel water bottle. Number three, steward your body, don't hurt it.

Remember that diet you promised to do in January? How about researching the effect your food and your medication and your favorite drinks have on your body and health? Check out what both sides of the debate is saying.

Whatever you do, don't harm your body out of ignorance. Maybe you could celebrate Earth Day by going grocery shopping and filling your cart with the mindset that whether you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, you're going to do all to the glory of God.

Stewarding the Body and Creation

And number four, use this creation, don't abuse it. I'm not a big fan of killing insects just because they're inside my house. I'll kill insects that are harmful, but I won't kill the beneficial ones.

This is not because I believe the bugs have souls, but I also don't believe that mindlessly squashing a ladybug glorifies God. I mentioned ladybugs because my house is right in the middle of their migration path.

Every spring and fall, I have thousands of ladybugs hang out on and in my house for a week or so. They don't cause any trouble and trying to kill them all would be a huge and messy undertaking. So my family and I enjoy their beauty, leave them alone, watch them leave, and then clean up the ones that were left behind.

You could also celebrate today by building a birdhouse, starting a beehive, or just getting some chickens. But the real question about Earth Day is not why would you celebrate it, but why would you stop doing these things tomorrow?

We always need to worship God, stop wasting the resources he's blessed us with, care for the only body we're going to have this side of heaven, and steward the planet he's given us. And as I've said before, Christians should be the most passionate environmentalists because we serve the God who created the environment and commanded us to care for it.

If this idea is new to you, or you want to know more, I'd strongly encourage you to check out episode 47 to learn more about sanctified sustainability, and I hope you have a great Earth Day.