it gets a little political. it's okay if you'd rather not read.

after a hazy work week, so far our memorial day weekend activities have included:

eating tasty food
sleeping when we feel like it
church-time
washing and polishing our cars old-school style (with the garden hose and wax-on/wax-off action)
spraying for mosquitoes
cashing in our jar of coins
taking said cash to Bookstop on Shepard to buy In Defense of Food and Bone 6
watching the first four episodes of 'Freaks and Geeks'... which is pretty good, I have to say.
recycling

whilst on the way to the recycling drop off by Goode Co. Seafood, I found this article on the iphone. I'd googled 'is recycling worthwhile?', and this is the first article that pops up. it appears to be a pretty smart piece that has a lot to consider, and outlines more of the failings of recycling than benefits.

my primary motivations for wanting to recycle are 1) it makes me feel good, 2) it makes me more thoughtful about the things I buy and how I dispose of waste, 3) it seems like a step toward good stewardship of my part of the world. this - recycling - is a fairly recent development in my adult life. I'm not nearly as faithful as some, and though I do try to do other good-enviro deeds like print on both sides of my office paper, buy used furniture and goods, commit to buying used cars and homes, etc, there's still a lot I can learn about re-using and cutting consumption. I'm not influenced at all by the financial argument against recycling programs. for me, it's not a matter of cost... if something cost more today but would put mechanisms and processes in place for a cleaner, less-polluted tomorrow that smartly utilizes both our resources and waste, I'm all over that. I realize that landfills aren't what they used to be, but still - burying our trash in the earth? or sending it overseas, which is one point he didn't address in the article? cutting down on such practices, even by small percentages, would be a positive endeavor as far as I'm concerned.

because how we feel about our trash reflects more about people than they do bottom lines. we obviously live in a culture that's obsessed with having new things. during this economic period, I've considered that perhaps, no matter how much money and credit floats around the country, we shouldn't have so much new stuff out there to buy. that maybe there are too many new cars on lots, too many condos, too much in stores that gets turned over in the blink of an eye or season, to be bought and discarded by the consumer as soon as the stores tell us we need a new thingamajiggie.

plus, I'll go ahead and say it. I'm a Christian, and that's the lens I look through. I tend to see issues of basic stewardship in environmental questions which, I'm assuming, is why I keep trying to learn to incorporate a thoughtfulness about it into my life. Stewardship is at the heart of political, social, and fiscal matters for me as well, and because my concept of God is what it is, I imagine it's good to pursue... well, 'good things', as I define them. things that are ethical and effective, balanced, caring, having and promoting integrity and generosity, common sense. for me, reflective of a Creator who made all of it and all the people and money in it. I recognize that Christ-followers come at these topics a myriad of ways, and I'm not suggesting we have to agree because Jesus Would Recycle... or wouldn't. BUT... because Christianity and politics have somehow become tied together to represent certain ideals, I believe we've got to be very careful of the values and priorities we're communicating. when God blessed Adam and Eve with "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground. I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food," I'm fairly certain He would have us do our best to care for this place, as our understanding allows. if you're a Christ-follower and choose to not recycle or what have you, that's your freedom and I'm confident we'll still frolick together in the new earth. however, for a believer to publicly argue against it or stoutly defend the Hummer they 'deserve' just seems... well, weird to me. unhelpful, given who we are. that's all.

M and I have had a bit of discussion about what it would be like if the Christian faith was immediately connoted with helpful, peaceful services rather than politics. if we were the ones effectively leading by quiet yet powerful example and patching up holes in society's bucket, instead of government agencies. the independent spirit in me loves that idea... in my opinion, such doings would accomplish more for Christ than is able to be done through the government. and now that I've written this, I realize I have to keep trying to become the salve I'm talking about.

p.s. In Defense of Food is a really interesting read so far.

-m.y.