How climate change has become my battlefront.
Ever since I was a young boy stories from world war 2 have been fascinating for me. There was something captivating about these young men and women who would leave everything behind to knowingly put themselves in situations where they could have limbs blown off, eyes gouged out, or be shot repeatedly. They had a cause to fight for and were willing to endure anything to achieve it. As I grew older I felt some sense of guilt around my interest in the worst of human history. I would avoid some of these stories and force myself to think of the peace that I have now. To make the most of the country that my grandparents fought for. Even now when I see people make light of the bombings in London I set my jaw and shake my head.
This is my heritage and I'm proud of it. My grandparents may not have stormed the beaches in Normandy but they provided food and essential communications capability to the Allied troops. So here I am, nearing middle age as a Caucasian man with a wife and kids and a small piece of property to call my own. I live in a safe neighborhood surrounded by (at least outwardly) accepting people who celebrate differences, worship freely and teach my kids what the world is about at school. Why do I feel this need to fight? Why am I inspired by superhero movies and stories of the underdog? Why do I see conflict around the world on my twitter feed and want to engage in the battle? Why can't I just be happy with my piece of turf, have the neighbors for dinner and buy a dog?
There are sooooo many layers to this answer, I'm sure. I am no psychologist or anthropologist. I won't even get the gist of the answer at all! But what I do know is that even if I was able to bury my head in the sand with the other hobbits in the Shire, eventually the Orcs would impact my world. To deny our part in the global fight is foolishness and those who are able to fight should fight.
So what is the battle of my generation? Is it terrorism? Cyber security? Diminishing resources and over population? Okay, hold that thought for just a second, we'll pick it up again shortly.
As one who is doing his best (some days) to follow the teachings of Jesus, I see the war as having the same two sides that have always warred since the dawn of time. There is an enemy of God who corrupts and destroys bringing death to God's creation. I can smugly take ownership of every good vs. evil story since it is my Savior who has demonstrated this in real life. Iron Man ain't got nothing on this guy. If this paragraph is a real turn-off for you, I get it. Many of us have pandered Jesus as a feel good bumper sticker that has all appearances of a life crutch. Something we tell ourselves to scare off the ghosts that haunt our rooms at night. If this is your mindset, don't stop asking questions and being critical. In fact, if God is real and Jesus saved the world already, you should probably just ask Him to show you what this means. If you're going to engage with God though, don't be naive and think you can hide what you're really saying in your mind when you put the challenge out for Him to show up in your life.
Right, back to battle at hand. With this language of the "war" being a timeless good vs. evil affair, what is the present battlefield that we find ourselves in? Again this can be multi-layered. Your battle might be against drug cartels, civil war, cyber bullying, cancer or divorce. The global battlefront affecting us all simultaneously, in my mind, is climate change.
Climate change is creating death and destruction no matter how isolated your world is. Climate change is arguably following a principle laid out in the Bible - James 1:15 talks about how our evil desires conceive and give birth to sin, then sin when it is fully grown gives birth to death. Our greed has driven pollution on a terra forming scale and is now causing resource scarcity which gives birth to fighting and death. It is ramping up extreme weather events which are ripping apart homes and ecosystems and killing without discrimination. Islands are sinking and generational land is underwater bringing poverty and death.
This is the battle I choose to fight. My state-of-mind continues to be that of my fore fathers. A determination to do whatever it takes to win out against the forces that cause such suffering. So let's do it, let's join forces and take on this thing with everything we've got! Pick up your arms and....and....do what?! Shoot at the sky?! Cut through the barbed wire and cross the trenches of the ocean?
This fight is like no other in our history. That's a bold statement I know but even as I sit here I burn natural gas to heat my water. I drove to church in my carbon emitting vehicle. Me, the one who is willing to put it all on the line, motivated by my ancestors and empowered by the God of the Universe continues to pollute and add strength to the one that I fight. The other day I was talking to my son about the effects of burning gas while I was barbecuing in the back yard. Half way through he stopped and looked at me with an expression that said "then why are you barbecuing?" I think he was trying to figure out if this was a dumb question because it seemed so obvious that we shouldn't be doing it.
I'll stop there for now. I have some thoughts around this and what can be done (including the psychological war that commences when we become aware of our actions). Does this stir anything in you?