When I was a younger man, and my knees and back did not ache like they do now, I worked at a Christian camp.
One summer, some of the summer staff had tee shirts that I really liked. On the front the shirt read, “Blah blah blah,” while the back quoted 1 Corinthians 4:20:
“For the kingdom of God depends not on talk, but on power.”
I liked that shirt because I like that verse.
Despite what those who have heard me preach might think, I’m not much of a talker. Last year I painted the home office while my wife was away. Upon seeing it, she asked why I hadn’t discussed it with her first. I said, “I didn’t want to talk about it, I wanted to do it.”
That’s me in a nutshell.
I don’t want to talk about something, I want to do something.
Less Talk, More Action?
Does this go against what I’ve recently written? In my looks at Five Things Christians Can Do to Fight Climate Change, the first one I list is Educate Yourself, followed by Talk About It.
I think those qualify as actions. Educating yourself is definitely an action, and the talking about it I try to promote is not an endless stream of words but an effort to raise both awareness and concern about climate change.
However, we must do more than only talk about it. Or, to put it another way, our talking about it should lead to us doing something about it.
Or, to put it still another way, our faith must put on its boots and get to work.
To fight climate change, we must activate
What Are Your Circles?
We all have circles that we move in, groups of people we are connected with, some small and personal, some much larger and less intimate. Our families, our churches, our coworkers, our neighborhoods, our local governments, our federal government, and on and on and on, these are circles that we move in.
Your circle is where you can have the biggest direct impact. The smaller the circle, the easier it is to change. The larger the circle, the larger overall impact can be made by change.
We need both.
Think about your smaller circles, like family, friends, or church. What are some actions you could take to move these circles towards carbon neutrality? Switching all your lightbulbs over to LED bulbs is the easiest way to make a pretty decent change. You can do that in your house, and you can convince your friends and your church to make that change, too.
Begin with those smaller circles and those simpler changes, then see what kind of momentum you can build.
What larger circles could you start influencing? Many of us live in neighborhoods with Home Owner Associations or the like, or our children go to schools with Parent Teacher Associations of some sort. Joining the leadership group of such organizations will give you the opportunity to guide them to making decisions that are good for the environment and the planet’s future.
Government is a pretty big decision maker. Voting is a good way to make your voice heard. Don’t forget, though, your voice carries more sway in smaller places. Get involved in local government. Attend town hall meetings. Speak out. Local governments make a lot of decisions that impact waste management, water quality, land development and buildings, and more. Get active in these things.
Protests and Advocacy
I recently went to my first protest. It’s not my thing, but I’m glad others feel called to it.
I realized something about protesting after the fact. The protest I attended called for a large bank to divest from fossil fuels, and because of our protest that day, the bank did nothing. None of the big wig shot callers in that skyscraper looked out, saw our signs, and changed their minds.
But that’s not what protesting is about. You may never change the minds of those who can make big changes. But by drawing attention to the issues, you sway more and more people. You change public opinion. And when public opinion starts moving things, especially dollars, then the big wig shot callers start changing their ways.
I encourage you to attend at least one protest in your life. Let your children and grandchildren know that you are fighting for their future.
And be an advocate.
Advocacy can be as easy as communicating your concerns to those in power. It can be as simple as signing your name to a petition, copying and pasting a form email, making a phone call, or logging on to a Zoom meeting.
There are organizations working in your area right now whose sole focus is advocating for environmental concerns. They likely offer easy opportunities to join in their advocacy work, and maybe even trainings in how to become an active advocate.
These opportunities are a quick Google search away.
What About Personal Changes?
There are a lot of changes I can make to my life to fight climate change.
There are enough of them, in fact, that the next two posts in this series will address those changes.
We all need to change, and we need to change collectively. So, work on those circles you move in. Work at changing minds and hearts. Get as many folks as you can to understand the necessity of these changes.
Keep Moving Forward
If we can change the climate for the worse, we can change it for the better.
There is hope for a future on this planet for our species. It is a long, hard task that lies before us. The fight against climate change will take decades. It is daunting and you will want to give up.
Don’t quit.
Keep moving forward.
If we can change the climate for the worse, we can change it for the better.
Creator, Creature, Collards 