Hate the Hummer, Love the Driver by Barry Hall

Published: October 20th, 2005

It’s 6am in Ibiza and beams of orange sunlight shimmer on the choppy sea – it seems like they take up dancing when the clubs close down. A 24-7 team walks the beach, soaking up the silence and clearing empty bottles and used condoms from the seafront as a form of worship unto the Lord of creation.

They've spent the night in clubs, raves, bars...making friends and finding ways to share the love of Jesus with people who come to the island to party (more here). Now that the night is over, they walk the beach in silence, reclaiming the natural beauty of the earth for God's Kingdom.
 
 
I believe that christians need a serious reality check about the significance of stewarding the earth that God has given us. First, because there is enough evidence to make a case for global warming - evidence suggesting that the gas-guzzling vehicles on the road are actually contributing to the death tolls of tropical storms. Second, because the resources of the earth are to be shared for everyone's quality of life - not to be hoarded by the educated and the politically renowned, and neither to be wasted in ignorance.
Global Warming...
All serious environmentalists agree that our planet is heading for a major environmental crisis, attributed to (among other causes) the effect of carbon emissions on our environment. Despite what Michael Crichton's "State of Fear," may present, there is hardly a decent argument against global warming any longer - the effects of which include the interruption of weather patterns and increasingly volatile storm systems.
 
Time magazine: “One especially sobering study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that hurricane wind speeds have increased about 50% in the past 50 years. And since warm oceans are such a critical ingredient in hurricane formation, anything that gets the water warming more could get the storms growing worse. Global warming, in theory at least, would be more than sufficient to do that.”
 
category 4 Wilma
I had enough to say about this in a recent article about the natural disasters that have happened this summer. Now hurricane Wilma, category 4, looms in the Caribbean. 
 
What if, by living lives that treated the earth better, it was actually possible to see the Peace and Order of God’s Kingdom working to calm these storms that we see destroying human life across the globe?
There’s no formula here, but we can’t afford to overlook our roles in stewarding the earth over which God has given us dominion.

In light of the proposed effects of carbon emissions, let's take a look at the Hummer H2. It's the luxurious version of the military Humvee - it's huge, impossible to park, and gets 10-13 mpg at best. At best.

toys that hurt: Hummer's H2
As christians, how can we have compassion for hurricane victims while evidence suggests that our own automobiles are already contributing to next summer's batch of (increasingly worse) hurricanes?
 
I mean, I wouldn't be surprised to know that a great deal of the earth's population feels completely comfortable playing Russian-roulette with other people's lives on account of wanting to drive a sexy SUV. But shouldn't christian be different?
 
I feel like this question comes up a lot lately...
I'm definitely not saying everyone should go start a campaign or something. I'm not saying that it's time to condemn people and I'm not saying that we should stop hanging out with anyone whose car gets bad gas-mileage. 
 
All I am saying is that our choices matter - eternally, but also right now. We're not little kids anymore - we're big people now, and our big-people choices have the capacity to cause alot more hurt than they used to.
Sharing, Stewarding
Ok - so the global warming argument is a controversial one. Let's set it aside for something pain and simple: God has provided us with the resources we need to live our lives, and He intends us to share those resources.
 
About six months ago, I traded my SUV in for a four-door sedan. It was a big decision for me, being from southern USA (we're inherently fiesty about driving big vehicles). But Charlotte and I prayed about it and decided that it was the right thing to do - the SUV was way more car than I needed, which means I was consuming about twice as much gas as I needed to on a daily basis. So, one afternoon, we walked into a Toyota dealership and made a swap. The car I have now isn't as nice as the SUV was - no leather, not as cool looking for sure. 
But do you know what - I love that little car, because I know I made the right choice.
If we each made the effort to only consume what we needed, the suffering in the world would decrease dramatically. For instance: kids are starving in Africa. How many of us know that there is enough food in the world for everyone to eat well?
 
God cares for His children - He is the good shepherd! So why are children starving? Because God doesn't care? WRONG. People are starving because the resources aren't being shared. The answer is to share - to buck the cultural norms that teach us to hoard and consume, and instead share what God has given the earth with the people He put here. This is true for food, but it's also true that we should consider the rest of the world when we consider what type of car to drive.
 
“Living within the planet's means need not condemn us to giving up what we now assume we need for a full life, just to sharing it,” writes BBC News’ Alex Kirby. “The challenge we face is not about feeling guilty for our consumption or virtuous for being ‘green’ - it is about the growing recognition that, as the human race, we stand or fall together.”
 
I remember hearing a sermon about having a 'biblical world-view' one time, and then walking out to the parking lot to find a sea of SUV's that have never left the asphalt! What kind of world-view can we have, biblically, if we toss aside our responsibility to share and steward the resources of His creation?
Don't drive a car you don't need.
Today, more efficient vehicles easier and easier to come by. Hybrids are great, but even the average sedan get gas mileage that dwarfs the H2. Hear me out on this one - if you have a bunch of kids and need to drive a huge vehicle to carry them all around with, then GREAT. More power to ya. It's a legitimate need. But if not?
 
Here's my challenge: If you find yourself reading this article, half-convicted, half-offended, then take a risk and just pray about it. What's the worst that could happen - you trade the vehicle you don't need, buy something that fits your needs, and give any capital gains to a natural disaster relief effort as a redemptive act that you are now thinking about 'global needs' instead of 'my wants.' I dare you!
In closing...
Ok - it was a bit of a rant. Not too organized, emotionally charged, and I'm obviously not a scientist either. If you've made it this far, thanks for staying with me.
 
My own experience has been that the joy of the Lord has been much greater than the joy of the SUV.  I trust, pray, that you will choose to test this truth in your own life. God bless.
 
 
Barry Hall and his wife Charlotte moved to Chichester, England  from Kansas City, Kansas to be a part of 24-7 Prayer. They both graduated from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Between the both of them they love hiking to the trundle, writing stationery, Widespread Panic, and our dog Bella - miss you stinky!!
Please email Barry here with feedback, questions...
 
 
 
 

Post to: Facebook Facebook del.icio.us del.icio.us digg digg Newsvine Newsvine