Romans 05 – Gifts of the World

¹⁵ But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! ¹⁶ Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. ¹⁷ For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! (Read the rest of the chapter here!)

God’s abundant earthly gifts to us

Gifts. Spiritual gifts of hope, reconciliation, and grace.  These beautiful gifts are what Paul is talking about in this chapter.  It got me to thinking how God gives so abundantly in so many ways, not just spiritually, but physically, too.  Which makes our inability to share that much more heartbreaking.  To illustrate just how abundant God is, and how recklessly we waste Xyr gifts, consider these statistics:

Food Waste and Feeding the Hungry: I think I’ve mentioned this statistic before, but if not, definitely go check out Amanda Littletrip’s book The Fate of Food, which has an illuminating chapter on food waste.  It is estimated that the food waste in this country is somewhere between 162 – 218 BILLION dollars worth of food.  That includes the stuff that rots in the fields, gets thrown out from grocery stores and restaurants, and dumped from our own refrigerators.  Just one third of that wasted food would be enough to feed the 40 MILLION food insecure individuals in the US.  We make so much food in this country that we could feed all the hungry three times over with our excess.  Why aren’t we doing that?

Land mass, homelessness, and immigrants: This statistic isn’t as practical, but it’s more to illustrate a point.  If you gave every single individual in the US an equal amount of land in the contingent 48 states, each person – not family, but person – would get six acres.  To reiterate, this isn’t a practical statistic. If we actually went through with this it would leave no room for roads, hospitals, libraries, or grocery stores (not to mention Starbucks or Targets).  But, considering how many houses are built on quarter-acre lots, or how many multi-family housing units exist, we have enough room to house everyone who wants to be here while still making room for smart agriculture, green spaces, and business.

The Solution to Climate Change: Alright, it’s not that simple, but I want to illustrate how God has provided solutions to problems we make ourselves, and trees are the perfect example.  Depending upon how you calculate it, (there’s a great article here with a bunch of different statistics) a mature tree can sequester 48 pounds of carbon dioxide while producing enough oxygen for two people.  Additionally, a mature tree has 10-30 acres of leaf surface area. When waving in the breeze, these leaves act like a broom, picking up impurities such as dirt, soot, or exhaust.  Trees also seed clouds, provide food and habitat for wild animals and ourselves, and prevent soil erosion and flooding.  Trees are literally a solution to problems of our own making with extra gifts thrown in.  And that’s just trees – I haven’t even touched upon the carbon sequestering abilities of grasses or the oxygen-producing capabilities of sea plants.

I also haven’t touched upon the therapeutic possibilities of stem cells (even with some ethical questions they still show great promise), the nearly unlimited source of energy God has given us in the sun, and the vast amount of money that could be redistributed to alleviate poverty (again not a practical statistic, just illustrative: if the 10 richest Americans donated their net worth, each of the 38.1 million individuals below the poverty line would get over $12,000).  God has given us abundant gifts. Why aren’t we sharing them with each other?

We need to start sharing

We all feel put upon in some way.  I always have too much month at the end of my money. I never have enough time or energy after the kids are dealt with.  But I’m finding small ways to make it work anyway.  I take ten minutes out of my week to call my representatives.  As discussed in my last blog post, I literally raid my change stashes so I can donate to causes I believe in.  I make the effort to buy second-hand first because it is more ecologically sound: with online thrift stores this is easier and easier.  I try to double up on errands while I’m out so I’m not burning gas needlessly.  I’m not telling you this to brag, I’m telling you this to illustrate that we all can do a little better, this mindset of consideration and service is one that needs constant cultivation.  I still have a long way to go: I use way more single use plastic than I’d like. It has been years – decades, maybe – since I’ve donated my time to a soup kitchen, clean-up crew, or similar activity.  I don’t volunteer at the polls, the PTO, or church.  But I’m trying in the ways that I can for now.  And so can you.

Most importantly, we can demand change from our communities.  Fostering a mindset of consideration and service in ourselves is important, but we want to change society as a whole.  Here are some ideas as to how to do that (and I’d love if you add yours in the comments!): Attach your monthly book club to a cause – bonus points if you take a collection for a nonprofit or use your meeting time to occasionally volunteer.  Suggest outreach activities at your church – especially if you have the time and talent to spearhead such an endeavor.  Support businesses that have an ethos you can get behind, and stay away from those with practices you dislike.  Finally, I can’t say this enough – talk to your representatives.  Attend public hearings, and speak up!  Call those congressmen and senators! Let them know your thoughts and that you are voting your conscious.

God has given us so, so much.  The world is filled with the potential for healing, with beauty, resources for our every need.  Even under all the abuse the Earth suffers, God’s gifts flow seemingly unending from it.  The problem is, those gifts are hoarded by the greedy few.  I truly believe the bounty of the Earth and the Spirit has no bounds.  But in order to receive abundantly, we first have to give abundantly.  It’s up to us to find out how much more blessed we could be if we took care of the Earth, and took care of each other.  God has given us the resources to make it so. We are the only things standing in our way.

If you are enjoying what you read please follow the blog for more!  Click the folder icon in the upper left corner of the menu, and you can follow via WordPress or email.  And don’t forget to check us out on Instagram and Twitter, too!

Hosea 09 – Stewardship Callings

⁵ What will you do on the day of your appointed festivals,

    on the feast days of the Lord? (Read the rest of the chapter here!)

Kind of a rough start to a blog entry the week before Christmas, right?  But this chapter does ask us an important question: what will we do on the day of our appointed festivals? On the feast days of our Lord?  Will we participate in hollow ritual, whether that be religious or secular in nature, or will we remember our true callings?  Throughout these recent chapters – indeed, a major message that comes from numerous prophets – is that God does not want lip service, God wants our hearts and minds, our true dedication.

But what does that mean, exactly?  For me, it means stewardship.  I believe the best way to show our love of God is to care for what God cares for: Xyr creations.  The Earth and all its inhabitants.  So stewardship can take many forms, as you might imagine.  That’s one of the beautiful things about it: you can find what makes you passionate and follow that path.  And no one path is “better” or “right.”  There are many, many problems that need to be addressed in this world.

For example, my two major motivators are environmental stewardship and combating racism/xenophobia.  Those are broad topics, and I’ve explored them further I’ve zero-ed in on what really, really interests me.  First, within environmental stewardship is the issue of food waste.  Did you know that somewhere between 162-218 BILLION DOLLARS of food waste is generated in America each year?  That’s food that is thrown out at grocery stores and restaurants, by individual consumers, and the stuff that is left to rot in the field because it doesn’t meet harvesting standards (but is perfectly edible).  Just one third of that wasted food would be enough to feed the 50 million food-insecure individuals in this country.  Instead, it is in landfills producing methane, a greenhouse gas contributing to global warming. It is a sin of excess compounded by a sin of carelessness.  Did you also know that there are two bills that have been introduced to Congress that would go a long way towards combating this waste….but they have languished since being introduced.  (It’s the Food Recovery Act and the Food Date Labeling Act, both introduced by Congresswoman Chellie Pingree of Maine, you can read more about them here.)  You can bet I call my reps about those bills, and spend a lot of time sharing facts like the ones above to spread the word.  And while I’m far from perfect, I try to combat food waste at home, as well: buying only what we need, using leftovers in the next meal’s cooking, and composting as a last resort.

Second, racism and xenophobia, which need to be attacked from so many levels.  The issue-within-the-issue, if you will, that really gets to me is governmental policies towards refugees.  We are a country of plenty – as illustrated above by the sheer waste we are able to generate – and there is no reason we can’t reallocate resources to help those in need, including incoming refugees.  I wrote more about why this issue is important to me last year, in this blog post.  Again, I call my representatives, speak up on this blog and other forums, and donate when I can to organizations like IRC and RAICES.

But that’s just what I’m passionate about.  And it’s OK if that’s not what you’re passionate about.  My plea today is to just find what makes you passionate.  Some other quick examples:  My priest in Charlottesville cares deeply about healthcare in rural communities, as well as the rights and well-being of those in institutionalized care (such as the elderly or mentally ill).  I have friends passionate about criminal justice reform.  Others are dedicated to plastic-free lifestyles and spreading the word on the benefits of that, both personal and environmental.  Many of my favorite accounts on Instagram are devoted to fighting fast fashion with it’s exploitative nature and environmental impacts.

Like I said, there’s a whole world of problems to be fixed.  And that can be scary, when you think about trying to fix all of them. But God does not ask that of you.  God simply wants you to be a part of the larger picture.  When we are selfish, greedy, careless, we turn from God, as the ill-fated people in this chapter.  But if we turn towards eachother, towards stewardship, we can avoid the horrors of this chapter, and that is something to rejoice.

If you are enjoying what you read please follow the blog for more!  Click the folder icon in the upper left corner of the menu, and you can follow via WordPress or email.  And don’t forget to check us out on Instagram and Twitter, too!