Idle Worship
When cold temperatures grip northern parts of the world, people have a nasty habit of letting their cars idle to warm up. The engine doesn’t need this; modern engines adjust for changing ambient temperatures and air pressure changes in microseconds, and modern oil is effective in a wide range of temperatures. It’s us, and our self-pampering, that thinks we need the car wasting fuel for half an hour so the cabin is warm when we get inside.
There’s no better image for utter wastefulness than an idling car. Correcting this type of poor stewardship is the charge of the Evangelical Environmental Network, which rightly asserts that the first command given to Adam and Eve is husbandry of the land, air, water, plants, and animals – that is, to “work it and take care of it.” (Genesis 2:15). As Christ-followers, it should be our responsibility above anyone else’s to be more concerned than anyone else about the impact we have on God’s Creation.
Instead, we idle. We don’t act on it because of sin. “If a man is lazy, the rafters sag; if his hands are idle, the house leaks.” (Ecclesiastes 10:18) Our sins of laziness, ignorance, and a lack of accountability have let people – companies, governments, and individuals – damage the home God gave us, Earth. This has resulted in deforestation, the destruction of coral reefs, and whole species of animals becoming extinct during our lifetime, not to mention environmental disasters that have displaced and starved countless humans.
Like idling in the winter, it has been more convenient for Christ-followers to satisfy greedy desires and buy bigger homes, less fuel-efficient cars, and food like red meat that is more energy intensive to produce. Then we eat more and more food until we become unhealthy and poor stewards of the wonderful bodies God gave us.
Our greed is evidential of our sin, and because of that sin, we find this stuff hard to talk about. Because of our sin, we give excuses and offer careless rebuttals for our wastefulness and inaction. As Jesus warns us, “a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.” (Matthew 12:33-36)
Caring for God’s creation is part of setting a good example that Scripture encourages us to do, “so that no one may be open to blame.” (1 Timothy 5:7), and “so that no one will malign the word of God” because of our hypocrisy (Titus 2:5). Instead, we must “set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.” (Titus 2:7-8) Imagine if Christ-followers were known for our faithful protection of God’s Creation.
If we treat God’s Creation with awe and respect, we will demonstrate His character, value the intricacies of His handiwork, and practice living with contentment instead of greed.
Here’s a great way to start: When you get in your car, get moving. The car heats up significantly faster when the engine is under load. It’s another good reminder that idleness is idol worship: we worship ourselves, and not God, the giver and sustainer of all things.
