"Green"liness is next to godliness?

First of all, let me give you my definition of "being green": living a healthy, sustainable lifestyle that does the least amount of damage to the planet as possible. I am by no means very good at this lifestyle! There are a lot of things I should/could do like compost, pile on more blankets instead of using space heaters, and buy everything local and fresh. However, I am a great believer in changing my lifestyle by incorporating small changes slowly enough so they become habits instead of merely phases I go through.

Thinking about it, though, I do think we (especially those who profess to be Christians) are called to be green. Again and again, I realize we are merely stewards, not owners, of everything we think is ours. To be a steward is to be a caretaker. Think of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. Denethor, the dude who goes crazy in the midst of battle, and his family were charged with maintaining the kingdom of Gondor in the king's absence...even though Gondor had been without a king for hundreds of years. That's our job with Earth. Check it out: Gen 2:15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. (NKJV, emphasis added)

Additionally, it's just as important to take care of our bodies as it is to take care of Earth: 1 Cor 3:16-17 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are (NKJV).

Ever heard of the old "trash in, trash out" theory? Well, that's not completely true. Sure, some of our trash ends up in the toilet, but our bodies actually absorb a lot of the junk we put into it. We very happily poison our bodies on a regular basis! What could be worse for the environment? Sick people need to use a lot of artifice to get them better. To quote my doctor friend, "Our bodies were designed to be healthy." Shoving nasty stuff (like margarine, pills, anything processed, etc.) will take its toll on us eventually.

I'm actually going through a purification (which is a combined cleanse and detoxification program) right now. It's a 21 day program in which I primarily eat vegetables and fruit. My grocery bill is much higher right now than it's been in a long very long time. However, I feel fantastic! I get fuller on much less food, have much less food angst (if you're a former/struggling fattie, you know exactly what I'm talking about), and am reveling in the tastes that are exploding from the foods I'm eating. It's great. I can only imagine what my health would be like if I continued with this. To me, it's much better to invest in my health now and enjoy the benefits instead of steadily eating myself into a person who's been fighting with sickness her entire life. Plus, it's good incentive to get rid of the old black thumb and get a garden going! :)

All in all, being green is good for everyone and everything around us. It's very fashionable right now, but more importantly, it's godly. Keeping the Earth and our bodies in good repair definitely makes "green"liness closer to godliness than cleanliness does!

-Domestic Goddess out.