Is God Green?

e other day I watched a special on PBS dealing with the church's reaction to the environmental cause. Being a pastor in the mainline Church, we have been dealing with these issues for many years. I have heard many pastors of evangelical and conservative churches preach that the cause to protect the earth is not important. It is more important to save souls, because this earth will pass away, so why care? Well the earth has not passed away yet, and here we are having to deal with such issues as global warming, recycling, overflowing landfills, and many more things similar to these. So I must stop to ask: As a person of faith, what is my responsibility to mother earth?
I must admit, I drive an oversized car, waste a fair amount of paper, use styrofoam cups at times, and many more things. On the other hand, I strive to recycle, I encourage my church to use reusable cups and plates for coffee hour each week, buy recycled paper, and the list could go on. But as a Christian, I know that God is calling us to be good stewards of our earth. We must plant trees, fight pollution, make our homes and churches more energy efficient. We must take a stand! All people of faith from the most liberal, to the most conservative, we must unite and say "No More". We need to ask our pastors to preach on environmental causes, join rallies to fight for change, and live a better example ourselves. Saving souls and spreading faith is a good cause, but it is very hard to spread the gospel amid piles of trash. Try to be a good steward of what God gave you!