Of course, that's a fairly unbiblical theology, since the New Testament is filled with statements about God saving the planet, not abandoning it. Now, others say that if God is going to save the planet, that frees us up from having to. But we don't apply the same thought process to ourselves. Christ has saved us by grace. But, Paul asks, "shall we go on sinning so that grace may abound? Certainly not!"
We cannot do much good without God, but we are expected to work with God in his plan of restoration.
This poem by Wendell Berry seemed fitting for Earth Day. Let me know what you think.
Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.
And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
anymore. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a drawer.
When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.
So, friends, every day do something
that won't compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.
Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all that you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.
Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your crop is forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.
Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.
Listen to carrion -- put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men.
Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?
Go with your love to the fields.
Lie easy in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn't go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.
1 comment:
Interestingly, Berry came up in my poetry workshop last night as an icon of nature poetry - not because it was earth day but because someone had submitted a nature poem that I considered above and beyond the stereotypical nature poem. When I look at Berry's work, I often reflect on the philosophical aspects of it. In this particular selection, I am drawn to the line: Ask the questions that have no answers. Rhetoric is the process of using language to draw people into finding answers, and Berry is one of the better poets at using his language to bring people to their own conclusions...much as Jesus did through his parables, so I find it intriguing that he would state that there are questions without answers. He seems to be using this device to further encourage us to seek the answers that seem impossible. Just as Kester is asking us to think beyond the confines of the views being presented to us on a daily basis regarding the protection of our planet (this post), Berry is asking us to stretch our interpretation of rhetoric and questioning. Don't just accept that we are out of options; seek to find ways to use the life that God has given us to preserve His kingdom here on earth while we are stewards of his resources. What answers can we find while we have time?
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