Picked for a Purpose? The Environment

Romans  8.18-25

¹⁸ I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹ The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.  ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.

Today we are moving further into the reality of being chosen by God. I’ve called this and the next few messages, “Picked for a Purpose.” We are, after all chosen as God’s co-workers who have responsibilities toward God, others, self and as highlighted in the passage before us - God’s people also have responsibilities toward Creation.

This is a very politicized and controversial topic these days. North American have a heritage of consumption born out of abundance. On this side of the ocean there’s lots of land, resources and potential. And while consumption, and development are not in themselves wrong, how development happens can be. Oil spills, industrial waste and the after effects of deforestation are much more than the cost of doing business; they are events with moral and spiritual consequences as well.

So these are the things we’ll explore today. First, we’ll look at the passage before us and see what a Christian’s responsibilities are toward Creation. Second, we’ll separate care for creation from environmentalism. And last we’ll explore just how important this issue is for the world today.

As we read the verses, it seems clear that the Spirit through Paul is preparing his people for the world as it is and how it will be. There is no reason to think that Christians will be free from troubles in this present life. It is important, therefore, that they learn how to bear them. That seems obvious, but as we go beyond verse 18, what isn’t clear is what has the Creation got to do with suffering?

Simply put, suffering is tied to Creation. Nothing happens apart from the real world and all suffering is due to human activity of some kind. In the present time suffering happens as the direct result of a person’s sin or the sin or others. There is also the suffering that arises directly from our Christian profession and there is suffering that arises simply because we are in an imperfect world.

The Spirit is teaching that sin, which affected the divine purpose in man, affected also the entire nonhuman creation. So deeply is man fallen and so frustrated is the Creation that left alone both lack the purpose for which they were designed.

So what does that mean? The present state of the Creation is tied to human failure to be obedient to God and God’s call to be good stewards. Genesis 1.28 says, “God blessed humanity and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.” And yes the word subdue is a strong word; it means take it, work it and transform it. But how, for what purpose? Genesis 2.15, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”

The simple observation is that working the earth - agriculture, mining and manufacturing are normal,  good and expected. The goodness of the earth is our home, our sustenance and pleasure. Not only to eat and drink but to remanufacture what is already excellent into things that are also excellent. Does our manufacturing always do that?

God’s intention is that creation is good, valuable, a place of nurture that sustains life. So while it was and remains humanity’s responsibility to tame and transform the earth, we must accept that humanity has also exploited and polluted it. Humanity does not have permission to turn Creation into a toxic waste dump.

Today the creation is suffering from rampant development and the exploitation of natural resources is doing us all more harm than good.

Were you aware that:

Each Hour

• 1,692 acres of productive dry land become desert.
• 55 people are poisoned by the pesticides they use; 5 die.

Each Day

• 25,000 people die of water shortage or contamination.
• 250,000 tons of sulfuric acid fall as acid rain in the Northern Hemisphere.
• 60 tons of plastic packaging and 372 tons of fishing net are dumped into the sea by commercial fishermen.
• Almost 5 species of life become extinct.

Right now:

• One quarter of the earth’s surface is threatened by desertification – an area of over 3.6 billion hectares. This includes large areas in the US.
• The world’s drinking water supplies have fallen by almost two thirds since 1950.
• Every year, desertification generates income losses totalling USD 42 billion.

Since 1980 the worldwide yield of essential food crops has decreased? It is now 5% less than it could have been. This due to rising carbon dioxide levels and temperature change.

Were you aware that Malaria is on the rise due to deforestation and chemical fertilizer use?

Were you aware that the World Health Organization considers ¾ of new infectious diseases in humans to be the direct result of over-crowding animals in factory farms? Think bird flu or swine flu.

Were you aware that living in the developed world each of us stands twice the chance of getting cancer than those living in the developing world?

Were you aware that

·         In 2008, 21,000 Canadians will die from the effects of air pollution.

·         By 2031, almost 90,000 people will have died from the acute effects of air pollution.

·         In 2008, economic costs of air pollution will top $8 billion. By 2031, these costs will have accumulated to over $250 billion.

I could go on, but it’s time to make the point.  The Creation is groaning and fighting back because it’s been mismanaged, mishandled and abused.

And this is where we come in. Disciples of Jesus are called to say no to harmful uses of Creation. They are called to be responsible stewards because our future is tied to the future of all Creation. In fact, “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.” The creation is waiting for us to fulfill our calling. It’s more than fair to say that an indicator of the Church’s redemptive presence is the overall condition of the earth. The Creation is dependent on our activities.

And this brings us to the second issue, separating the calling to be good stewards from environmentalism.  Good stewards care for something. They protect it and look to the future. They ask, is this what God wants for the world because being a steward is like being an employee; they do what the owner of the land wants. They ask, how is what I’m doing today going to impact other people, my children, grandchildren and the world around me?

Take Leviticus 25.3-5  “For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. ⁴ But in the seventh year the land is to have a sabbath of rest, a sabbath to the Lord. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards.”

This law, which I’ve never seen obeyed, makes sense. Just as natural fertilizer makes sense, just as recycling motor oil rather than pouring down the drain makes sense. It gives the land a chance to be restored. Much of Texas is at risk of becoming dessert in a few years. The cause: over-cultivation and uncontrolled water pumping from underground sources. Stewards don’t do that. In Atlantic Canada the cod fishery is gone and over fishing is at least partly to blame. Good stewards don’t do that either. Every time we cultivate land, change waterways or animal populations we cause ripples beyond immediate need. Stewards recognize that and act accordingly.

In these ways good stewards are also environmentalists. They take seriously their calling to care for the environment. They care for creation as best they can; they set goals based on what God wants for Creation. And God’s ultimate goal is to see all of Creation redeemed. People and planet both. “the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.”

Environmentalism by contrast worships the Creation, not the Creator. It sets animals equal to people in worth and dignity. It make a religion out of caring for Creation that often puts lives at risk and tends to treat humanity as an infection the planet would do well without. So again we see that a good thing - concern for the environment can become misguided - a nature religion. Regardless, let’s accept that in some ways environmentalists are our allies if the common goal is to reduce, reuse, recycle for the good of the earth and the glory of God.

Let’s move to our third and closing issue. This issue is now and has always been important for our world. What does the world need from a renewed understanding of Creation care and stewardship? Most of the Law found in scripture is based on principle, when followed, enhance life and bring goodness to believer and non-believer alike. The Leviticus law may have addressed people living 3500 years ago, but the principle of sensible farming practices have always mattered. Just as sensible mining, fishing and manufacturing principles matter.

And the example set by those who follow these godly principles impacts others for good. Either there is a direct benefit of health and life, or there is the greater benefit of coming to know the one who is light and life. The church is called to carry out agricultural and industrial activity responsibly so that those who do not believe will see the greatness of our God and believe.

So rather than urge believers to simply recycle more or to live without technology or to reject anything except organic and natural or drive hybrids, – let’s face it anyone can do that; let’s do what no one else can. Let’s get on board with what God is doing no matter the cost. The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. We are stewards even though we may own title to lands and properties. Can we accept that and allow the Spirit to guide us in our work?

The final verses of our text make it clear. The spirit is calling his people to pray. To pray for wisdom so that the decisions we make are in accordance with God’s desire for the Creation. To pray for restraint knowing that stewardship has a cost. To pray for a firm and confident hope that what has begun will be completed with our cooperation. To pray that the Kingdom will come and that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Dare we pray and see Creation renewed along with us?

We Have An Education System?

I thought I'd weigh in on the current teacher issue in BC. It's happening in Alberta also.

It seems to me that parent inconvenience is the only real power teachers have. So it also seems expected that they’d use what little political power available to address conditions. The fact that parents are inconvenienced is probably a good thing if finally it prompts authentic discussion and a new – les adversarial - way for the future.

It seems to me that the teaching profession has always been an easy target of the government. Over the years we’ve seen that it's an easy place to make small cuts in wages or funding that produces a correspondingly enormous difference in terms of the public purse. Also, as teachers generally have a helping, caring nature they are more susceptible to letting their desire to nurture children override a demand for wealth. As with other professionals, we aren't in these vocations for the money.

As such, teachers are called upon to do extra-curricular supervision including sports teams. They routinely take marking home and have to develop curriculum outside of school hours. They may have time off a Christmas, Easter and in the summer, but upon careful investigation, these periods are often filled with more prep work land report card writing and the like. In fact one of my best teachers routinely spent 2-3 weeks during alternate summers in Europe for the express purpose of professional development. Her passion was contagious. The point I'm making is that when all the hours of a teacher's efforts are calculated, they receive far less than is commonly perceived. Further, there is no allowance for teachers to receive overtime and there is ultimately a cap on possible earnings. School districts provide increments for years of service, but that ends at some point. The point here is that as with some salaries employees they receive no monetary compensation for what can be excessive overtime, unreasonable treatment by management and parents. So, the fact that teacher unions can be militant should come as no surprise. Two reasons, first when a group feels attacked it is expected for their reaction to be unionization and militancy if the conditions continue to cycle negatively. Surely it must be the case because private sector professionals in the helping fields do not unionize. Working conditions impact employee satisfaction and it seems too simplistic to simply blame teachers or their union or government – for that matter – for the current situation.

Second, all people always serve some level of self-interest. Let's just accept that and move on.

But let’s go further down the road of compensation for a moment. By contrast to teaching professionals, the self-employed and those employed in industry have a vastly different experience. Overtime is routinely provided for, in fact it's guaranteed by law. For those is sales, every moment of working time can be quantified, considered productive and containing the real potential for greater remuneration. And of course, those who also have five or more years of university education typically earn more than those in the teaching field. Why? It seems to me that compared to let’s say a bookkeeper, executive assistant or graphic designer, the relative value of the teacher's work is seem as revenue negative. That is, they produce no salable product nor do they add wealth to a product by way of remanufacturing, advertising or accounting.

This of course is a fallacy. Teachers are primarily responsible to teach children how to think, including learning the disciplines of reading, writing and arithmetic. An uneducated generation is counterproductive for our culture and economy. Our policies toward educators should prompt the best to work here (wherever here is) and to encourage professional development and excellence so that the next generation can not only function but become leaders in our communities.

Teachers need fair pay, working conditions and most off all the respect of society. Their jobs as we've designed public education are essential.

But what, some may say about the competence of teachers, accountability and excellence. Again, I'm convinced that overwhelmingly, a typical teacher's motive for entering this vocation is not to become rich. True, the unions overprotect those who may have become complacent and those who would fit better in a different vocational field. So let’s design ways and means to deal honestly with those issues and not brand all teachers as incompetent, ungrateful or lazy. It's also simplistic to blame teachers for less than desirable outcomes in the teaching process. Parents are responsible to make their kids ready to learn. That includes home interaction, proper nutrition and care. It also means teaching them to respect teachers and all authority figures. Parents are responsible to teach kids how to use technology. Parents are responsible to support the teaching process as partners. Again, if these issues involve parenting skills development and assistance then public policy should work on those issues instead of forcing educators to babysit malnourished children.

So, how can we help the situation? It seems to me that supporting teachers may be in letting the government know that teachers need to be respected, challenged and fairly compensated. And this without buying into the political posturing reducing the issue to us against them, labour/management, conservative/liberal positions.

Parents can support the educational system without it becoming the basis for provincial politics. Maybe the union leadership, opposition and government will have to work together respectfully if they know that parents are calling BS on the current situation. If the quality of education has been reduced to electability of public official we're in a dark place indeed.

T is for Transformed by the Spirit?

Romans 6.1-14

Today we’re continuing in our series entitled FAITH. And to get our minds fixed on the topic let’s talk about walls.

Over the centuries people have built some pretty impressive walls.

There is the wall of China and Hadrian’s wall. Massive construction projects separating whole nations from another. Built for protection and security. China’s wall built starting at 700 BC is 8800 KM long and Hadrian’s built in 122 AD is 120 KM long. Then there are some more modern walls. The Berlin wall 155 KM long only lasted a few years by comparison. It was also built for security reasons. And the newest famous wall is the iron wall of Israel. Built to keep Palestine separate from Israel.

These walls have one thing in common: they keep people separate. Physically, and it’s hoped by the wall’s builders separate also in terms of ideas, goals and beliefs.  Walls in our homes can do the same thing. Large homes with separate rooms let family members drift apart into their own pursuits. Arguments often ended with the slamming of doors.

No doubt building some walls is wise. China and Rome benefitted from their construction projects. Many people were kept safe and war reduced. The Berlin wall was a disaster and was torn down. The jury is still out on Israel’s walls.

But what has this to do with Romans 6. A few things, I think.

As we read the passage we saw a few words repeated many times. Die, died and death appear 15 times all together. And words like live, life, raised appear at least a dozen times. That’s a clue to what Paul wants us to hear. The passage is about separation; a big wall. What wall could be bigger than the one separating death and live?

What else is going on? The word sin shows up 10 times but grace only twice. Once at the beginning and once at the end of the passage. Could it be that sin is a common problem, but grace is more powerful? That grace covers a multitude of sin? That too seems likely.

In fact those two points stick out in the passage for a reason. Paul by the Spirit explains once again that humanity is Fallen, trapped by sin which is spiritual death and Christ died to acquit people from their sin guilt. More, Christ died so that in him there is life, the life of grace. It’s the great separation: believers in Jesus are carried across the wall from the land of spiritual death and obedience to sin into the land of life and obedience to the Spirit. And how does this happen? It’s God’s gift! And the response? Baptism and profession of faith. Two things: the symbol of spiritual washing found here in Romans 6 and belief in Jesus as in Romans 10.8-11

But what does [the righteousness by faith] say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: ⁹ That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. ¹¹ As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”

Profession of faith isn’t first about membership in a particular denomination. It’s about becoming a living breathing member of Christ’s community expressed as a local congregation. Just like ours.

So the wall has a purpose, this great divide between spiritual death and spiritual life. Its purpose is to provide a place where the disciple of Jesus can live freely from the domination of sin.

And what does that look like? Well in the land of spiritual life there should be less sin than before. Sin should begin to look less and less attractive, less fun. Sin should begin to look more and more stupid, ugly, harmful. Bent sexuality, spoiled stewardship, distorted goals are shown to be the darkness they really are.

You see the problem for those trapped on the Spiritual death side of the wall is that the loudest voice, in fact the only one that can be heard clearly is Satan’s voice. The words of a liar, deceiver and destroyer. He’s the one who sows mistrust between people, greed, lust, pride, envy, anger, drunkenness corrupt sexuality and fear in hearts so that people become isolated, lonely and confused. People on the dead side of the wall are unable to do any better on their own.

On the Spiritually alive side of the wall God’s Spirit sows love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Good news and true, but here’s an important fact: even on the alive side of the wall believers must train their listening skills. As one author says so well, “We can still hear Satan’s from across the wall from the old field we used to play in. And out of long habit we sometimes still obey his voice even though we don’t have to.  Do we wonder why believers wander and do incredible things? Given the right conditions, it’s possible for anyone to give in and do what Satan suggests – even though those who believe in Jesus do not have to do it.

In the land of Spiritual life we are urged to “not let sin reign.’ That’s a choice any believer can make and there are two ways to make that decision more likely and more often.

The first is to recognize the journey. Profession of faith is the beginning, not the end. It is a walking away from sin, death and the devil with The Spirit into life, grace and gratitude. It begins by accepting and celebrating what Jesus did on the cross. It is fueled by new-found freedom; that by the Spirit there is no longer a reason to give in anymore to sin.  

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. (Rom 6.22)

Holiness is life as God intended. Negatively, has sin ever made your life better? Isn’t it true that less sin produces a better life? To accept this, the spirit helps believers understand spiritual things and begin to live in harmony with God. No Spirit in life no understanding, no harmony with God.

This is the T of FAITH: Transformation by the Spirit. From day one God has been calling each of us. Like a lover wooing and inviting. Relentless God doesn’t give up on His beloved. The voice of the Good Shepherd goes out and his people hear his voice, they respond. God has spared nothing to draw his people into the land of Spiritual life, over the wall and into his peace.

Second point: The Spirit is the life-long companion on the journey. And as such no believer can do without the Spirit. Every believer naturally wants more of the Spirit. To pray for a greater measure of wisdom, faith and trust in God that only comes as a gift of the spirit through the experiences of life. Spiritual strength comes through the Spirit helping believers choose life over death more and more often. Such that God’s Spirit is each believer’s personal trainer. 

Got the Spirit? Want more? Ask and it will be given to you as you move along the journey of faith. Those who profess Christ live on the life side of the wall. They have spiritual strength to share their joy in Christ with others who are still in the land of death. They have spiritual strength to help those who are on the life side to be strong themselves, to help and correct those who wander and to help restore those who have stumbled. That’s what church membership is about and why we share the good news ever Sunday. If we didn’t, when people aren’t reminded on their newfound freedom weekly the slide into sin is more frequent the voice of Satan more compelling.

And what about when a brother or sister falls or the community makes a mistake. The Spirit facilitates healing for relationships and reconciliation. In fact such healing happens best in community – no surprise really that’s where most of hurts come from. What other place brings broken people together and in the power of the Spirit learn to live, truly live as God intends?

The Spirit is waiting for your cooperation to bring deep and lasting transformation into your life. God is gentle and kind, patience but relentless. God loves us too much to leave us separated from himself or others. The wall of hostility has been removed.

By the Spirit embrace life.