LESSONS FROM “THE SHACK” Part 3, 6/26/08
by SteveAs Mack continues his conversation with Jesus, there is an interesting and unexpected turn in the dialogue. As they talk, Mack is taken aback by the beauty of the scenery, a “visual symphony.” Mack tells Jesus that he (Jesus) does great work, and Jesus replies:
And can you imagine if the earth was not at war, striving so hard just to survive?
The first time I read that sentence, I misunderstood its meaning. I thought it meant that the world would be a much more beautiful place were it not for the wars that rage all over it. But upon further examination, it became clear to me that Jesus was saying that the earth is at war with human beings, whose selfishness and thoughtlessness threaten its very existence. Jesus goes on to clarify:
Some have attempted to help her, but most have simply tried to use her. Humans, who have been given the task to lovingly steer the world, instead plunder her with no consideration, other than their immediate needs. And they give little thought for their own children who will inherit their lack of love. So they use her and abuse her with little consideration, and then when she shudders or blows her breath, they are offended and raise their fist at God.”
“You’re an ecologist?” Mack said, half as an accusation.
“Well, this blue-green ball in black space belongs to me,” Jesus stated emphatically. (The Shack, p.144).
That, dear readers, is very scriptural. One of the primary tasks given by God to human beings is to “rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground (Genesis 1:26-27). That means that we are to be caretakers of all creation, no exceptions.
Conservative Christians have had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the environmental movement, due to their core belief in the imminent Second Coming of Christ. Their guiding philosophy has pretty much been that the earth’s resources are there for us to use up, and that we won’t be residents here long enough to worry about exhausting them. Thank goodness, many conservatives are finally moving away from that view, and have moved toward a much “greener” position.
Jesus will be happy about that.�
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First, let me say that I’m now anxious to read this book, it appears to apply a wonderful lens on things. Next, although I agree with the idea of this passage, I’m discouraged by reality. I do not know of an animal which, left unchecked, will *not* exploit it’s environment to it’s own detriment, and man is not an exception. Worse, we have virtually eliminated all predators/competition. Imagine what our perception of ourselves would be, should we have watched the earth from a distance for the last hundred years. Consider what type of film you would be watching if someone had snapped a picture a day of the United States, over that period of time, then played it back as a movie. Then imagine the same film from New Delhi, India, Mexico City, Mexico, or Beijing, China. It would be like watching ants devour something huge. For every additional human on this planet, how many other living things get displaced? I truly don’t know, but am afraid of the answer. Yet every culture which has ever had any notion of the balance needed between man and the rest of nature has been systematically eliminated by those more greedy. “…little thought to their own children…”, indeed. The *only* good news is this - man *can* understand this, *can* change. We have the element of ‘reason’, the mental capacity to examine our own behaviour, and that of our ancestors, and adapt it to the future. We *can* become the caretakers scripture bids us be. Only, no one but ourselves compels us. No one but ourselves will teach our children to do better. Every day we arise, we choose what actions we will or won’t take. Every minute we continue to live, we are graced with the option to choose again. Perhaps we should.
Bj