Sustainability: A Modern Term, An Ancient Concept

“Sustainability” might be a modern term, but it’s an ancient value. Parents were reminding children to turn out the lights generations before Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth. Elders have long taught youth not to take more than is needed, to live in harmony with one’s surroundings, to protect the soil from wind and water erosion, and to protect creatures so they can continue to reproduce. Before the advent of sustainability coordinators, math, and science, citizens of our world were already implementing widely effective methods to use resources without depleting those resources or causing permanent damage.

Elders have long taught youth not to take more than is needed.

At the COP23 climate change negotiations, people of faith have been wondering if we’ve lost the discipline of living in harmony with our surroundings. Are we okay with that loss? And if we aren’t okay with it...how do we restore it? The answers to these questions go deeper than line graphs--down to our call to love God and neighbor. These are some of the ideas I am hearing that resonate with me. Maybe they will inspire you as well.

• Start with yourself before reaching out. Think about your own personal suffering as a result of degradation and over-consumption before you are ready to face our collective suffering and motivate others towards change. How are you affected? How is God calling you to repentence and love for your global neighbors? 
• Consider how the story of climate change and our deeper story of Creation, Fall, and Redemption fit together.  
• Listen to people on the ground, especially in developing countries. Seek out Indigenous knowledge on climate change over analysis from developed countries. (One way to do this is through the Climate Conversation: Kenya video series produced by World Renew and the Office of Social Justice.)
• Consider humanity’s need for community, genuine partnerships, solidarity, mutuality, and generosity.

Each of us has our own unique contribution to make to the bigger picture of defending vulnerable people and preserving God’s good world.

I am currently representing World Renew and the Climate Witness Project at COP23 in Bonn, Germany. It is exciting to be here. Being with thousands of people from all over the world, coming together from all walks of life to stand in solidarity about an issue that is affecting the entire world, is an awesome thing. You realize that you, as an individual, are one of many with the same passion, and that each of us are one small but crucial piece of the puzzle. Each of us has our own unique contribution to make to the bigger picture of defending vulnerable people and preserving God’s good world. It’s a very humbling experience!

Sign up here for daily updates from our team during COP23.

[Image: Death to Stock photos]