I’m not talking about green like the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz! I’m talking about green as in global warming, hybrid cars, animal rights, and environmental protectionism.
What would Jesus do? Here’s what I know:
- Jesus was on the creation team! He made the world. “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” John 1:3
- Creation has His constant attention. He “sustains all things by his powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3)
- Creation is His inheritance. “By his Son, God created the world in the beginning, and it will all belong to the Son at the end.” (Hebrews 1:2)
- Creation will be redeemed. “The created world itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead” (Romans 8:19-21) —This is The Message but check it out in your own translation and you’ll find the very same teaching.
So the physical world, all of it, is extraordinarily important to Jesus. But here are some more parts of the puzzle:
- Jesus was a carpenter’s son. He certainly must have cut down trees and used them for human purposes. (Mark 6:3)
- Jesus drove the money changers out of the temple, not for selling animals for sacrifice, but for doing business in God’s house. (John 2:14ff)
- Jesus was not a vegetarian! He ate the Passover lamb each year and he ate fish on at least two occasions. (Luke 2:41, Matthew 26; John 21)
- Jesus helped his disciples catch fish! (John 21)
- Jesus cursed a fig tree and killed it because it should have had fruit, but didn’t (Matthew 21 and Mark 11).
- Jesus allowed, even praised the use of nard as a libation for his glory (John 12:3). Nard is from a rare flowering plant in India and China.
- Jesus rode on a donkey (Matthew 21)for his own purposes. But he also assumed that if an ox was stuck in a ditch, good people would try to get it out (Luke 14).
Would Jesus be green? I’m not ready to answer yet.
From what I understand, Jesus treasures all creation enough to redeem it with his blood. Jesus created all life, but only put his breath and his image into people. So I believe that while there is temporal overlap, a qualitative difference does exist between organic life and human life.
Jesus appears to have used the natural world for his purposes, even holding it accountable when it did failed to serve him well (fig tree incident). So I don’t think Jesus believes that people are just another element of creation, but rather that we were given the physical world to use—for God’s glory, not for ours.
Jesus would not abuse His creation, His inheritance. He would not destroy creation’s glory for self-gratification, for greed, for power, or for lust. He did nothing for these reasons. He used the physical world for His glory!
Would Jesus be an eco-terrorist? No! Would He believe that animal rights and human rights should be the same? No. Would he be concerned about global warming or ivory poaching? He would be concerned about abuse of His inheritance wherever it was happening!
So, I think my final answer is: As Jesus did, we should love the creation and use it for God’s purposes and God’s glory.
Does that work for you?
Mark's Blog 
Mark, I agree with your assessment of Jesus’ “green-ness.” However, it assumes that living green is a response solely based on human relationship to the Earth. What it doesn’t take into account is living green based on human-to-human relationship. I believe Jesus’ motivation would have included both- as Creator and as one who challenged every presupposition of loving others.
(What follows is far over-simplified, but designed for a blog response.)
I think Jesus would be green as a response to others’ suffering. He would not over-consume at the expense of others, certainly not at the expense of the poor or suffering. Would he buy used clothing and furniture? If it meant that children were saved being exploited in sweatshops. Likewise for fair-trade goods; he’d spend the extra money on his coffee, chocolate and produce to make sure that his Christian brother in another country was paid a fair wage, could feed his family. As a carpenter, he probably wouldn’t use rainforest woods- other people need clean air, even those that aren’t born yet! He probably wouldn’t trash “scrap wood,” but donate it for others to use who can’t afford new materials. Would he recycle in general? Yes. Plastics are made from petroleum and petroleum production and consumption affect climates, which adversely impacts the poorest of the poor who live in coastal regions as well as extremely hot and arid regions. Would he ride a bicycle or take the bus? Maybe he would, again concerned about his carbon-footprint, but maybe simply because he wouldn’t be compelled to purchase/consume when unnecessary. Maybe he’d give to the needy rather than to the bank, unconcerned by loans and repayments. Would he turn off the lights when he wasn’t in a room and turn off the water while he brushed his teeth, or washed his hands, or even lathered in the shower? If it meant that he was better able to serve those who don’t have electricity or water. He would be willing to suffer for the least of these. Unfortunately, for many in American/Western society, living green can be considered (politically) radical or “too hard,” or, conversely, a badge of honor and distinction that allows one to count oneself “better” than others. But, when we consider the impact that our consumption has on the rest of the world, especially the extremely poor who supply many of our goods, we cannot feel good about it. We cannot claim that we are caring for the widows and the poor. When we live as though we are entitled to all resources, we have no thought toward loosing the chains of injustice or setting the oppressed free. I am convinced that Jesus would live green inasmuch as it blessed others. This should also be our concern as we consider our green options in a global society- WWJD?
I love you response, Cass. While I focused more on the first of the great commandments, you reminded me and other readers that there are two great commandments. Great to hear from you!
It works for me!