{"id":814,"date":"2014-04-22T10:00:23","date_gmt":"2014-04-22T15:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/foolsconfidence\/?p=814"},"modified":"2014-04-22T10:01:39","modified_gmt":"2014-04-22T15:01:39","slug":"on-earth-day-love-the-least-of-these","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/foolsconfidence\/2014\/04\/on-earth-day-love-the-least-of-these\/","title":{"rendered":"An Earth Day Reflection- Love the Least of These"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

By Kelli Trujillo<\/p>\n

Being green<\/a>\u00a0and caring for the planet is about a lot more than caring for fish or trees or birds or rivers or dirt or air. As Christians, we care for creation as a means of\u00a0loving our neighbors<\/strong>\u00a0(Matthew 22:36-40<\/a>). We believe that human life is of inestimable worth\u2014far beyond the value of diamonds or gold or rubies or dollar bills. Because of our belief in the\u00a0sanctity of life<\/strong>, we take seriously Scripture\u2019s call to protect the vulnerable (Isaiah 58<\/a>), care for the \u201cleast of these\u201d (Matthew 25:31-46<\/a>), and do unto others as we\u2019d want others to do unto us (Luke 6:31<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"love<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a basic biological fact:\u00a0Human life is inextricably tied to the health of the created world<\/strong>. The harsh reality is that environmental degradation directly and negatively impacts human lives! All over the globe, people are getting sick, remaining mired in cycles of poverty, and even dying as a result of environmental degradation. Air pollution, water pollution,\u00a0deforestation<\/a>,\u00a0climate change<\/a>, and many other factors are directly hurting humans\u00a0whom God created, whom God loves, and whom God has called\u00a0us\u00a0<\/em>to love like he does.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So as Christians we\u00a0care\u00a0<\/em>that unborn babies are born with\u00a0toxic levels of mercury\u00a0<\/a>in their blood as a result of the pollution caused by certain forms of energy production. And we\u00a0care\u00a0<\/em>that other babies are born with\u00a0birth defects linked directly to air pollution<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We\u00a0care<\/em>\u00a0about kids who live in dumps or polluted urban areas\u2014who suffer from cancer, heart disease, asthma and worse as a result of the toxins they\u2019re exposed to daily.<\/p>\n

We\u00a0care<\/em>\u00a0about impoverished subsistence farmers and fishermen who must attempt to feed their family from depleted soil, unsanitary water, and contaminated fish.<\/p>\n

We\u00a0care<\/em>\u00a0that the\u00a0global poor are profoundly affected\u00a0<\/a>by erratic weather patterns, droughts, rising water levels all linked to pollution and carbon emissions.<\/p>\n

I could go on and on here listing example after example of how human-caused environmental degradation directly and disproportionately harms the most vulnerable around the globe . . . but I won\u2019t. These examples suffice to make my point: Being green isn\u2019t just about the \u201cearth\u201d\u2014but it\u2019s also about caring for\u00a0human life.\u00a0<\/em>I firmly believe that being pro-life is about more than just abortion; more broadly, the reiterating biblical call is\u00a0to speak up for all who are vulnerable.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019d never want my kids to eat toxic food or drink polluted water, to starve or suffer from preventable disease! Would you?\u00a0This is where God calls us to embrace Scripture\u2019s profoundly-challenging Golden Rule: To care for the global poor the same way we\u2019d care for ourselves and our loved ones.\u00a0To defend, to love, to protect.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And this love for humankind compels us to consider the environmental implications of our lifestyle and daily choices. Though \u201cgreening\u201d our lifestyles can seem like an overwhelming task,\u00a0I believe we can make small and simple choices, then build upon them with more small choices, as we each grow as stewards.<\/a>\u00a0(I\u2019m still growing! It\u2019s still a journey for me and my family, one small choice at a time!)<\/p>\n

Friends: God calls us to love.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth it.<\/p>\n

Re-posted with Permission. View the Original Post here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong>Kelli B. Trujillo writes to encourage Christian women in discovering the sacred opportunities hidden in the seemingly mundane aspects of their everyday lives. With a focus on spiritual formation,\u00a0Kelli\u2019s books<\/a>\u00a0lead women to encounter God in ways that fit the reality of their often busy lives\u2014as wives, as mothers, as employees, as leaders, and more. Kelli\u2019s works invite women to re-imagine what their relationship with God could be, emphasizing that faith isn\u2019t about perfection, idealism, or fitting into some cookie-cutter version of what it is to be a Christian woman. Read more of her writing by clicking here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kelli Trujillo Being green\u00a0and caring for the planet is about a lot more than caring for fish or trees or birds or rivers or dirt or air. As Christians, we care for creation as a means of\u00a0loving our neighbors\u00a0(Matthew 22:36-40). We believe that human life is of inestimable worth\u2014far beyond the value of diamonds […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":535,"featured_media":815,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[552,546,17,550,545,549,547,551,548],"class_list":["post-814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-christian-life","tag-air-pollution","tag-being-green","tag-climate-change","tag-deforestation","tag-earth-day","tag-kelli-trujillo","tag-loving-our-neighbors","tag-mercury-pollution","tag-sanctity-of-life"],"yoast_head":"\nAn Earth Day Reflection- Love the Least of These<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Kelli Trujillo Being green\u00a0and caring for the planet is about a lot more than caring for fish or trees or birds or rivers or dirt or air. 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