June 7, 2017
5:45 p.m.

"God gave us the earth to use, and we are called to be good stewards of it and use it wisely." This is a quote by Franklin Graham, Evangelical Minister and son of Billy Graham. It is part of a message where he scoffs at the idea that Nancy Pelosi might actually read the Bible, simply because she said that pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement dishonors God. I have no opinion of whether that in itself might be dishonorable, but the way this Administration puts money on a pedestal and our earth on the chopping block certainly does. Graham can scoff all he likes, but I would like to know how anything the present Administration is doing can be defined as good stewardship of the Earth.

I'm about to piss everyone off, I guess.

I consider myself to be a Christian, so it is hard for me to speak up and say something negative about a so-called Christian sentiment, but it's time for some people to stop hiding their heads in the sand and denying that there are problems that human beings--not God--are responsible for.

Climate change is not a myth. It is not an agenda being propagated by China. It is reality, and God is probably not going to fix it.

Here's why:

We did this to ourselves.

God created a beautiful world and gifted it to us. He gave us the things we needed to survive and gave us the intelligence we needed to properly use and care for his gift.

Now, I ask you--are you the sort of child who, when presented with a gift from your parent, immediately tears it to pieces? If you are, you do know know what that makes you, right? A BRAT!

Why are all these so-called Christians being brats?

As a parent, if I give my child a car and he immediately takes a knife to the seat covers and punches a hole in the gas tank, and then expects me to replace the car, I'm going to tell him to take a hike. Literally. I will never again give that child another car--or anything else, for that matter. I expect my children to treat a gift with care and gratitude.

Why would God expect anything less from his children?

But as a species, we have repeatedly punched holes and taken knives to the world God gifted to us. In the past, much of the damage we did was through ignorance. But time and science have taught us that there are better ways to use and care for this Earth. Knowing what we know now, if we still choose to totally trash it, how can we expect Him to give us a new one?

"As a Christian," said Representative Tim Walberg (R-Mich), "I believe there is a creator in God who is much bigger than us. And I'm confident that, if there's a real problem, he can take care of it."

Well, guess what? I believe in that Creator myself. But  here's the thing: Why would he take care of it? Because we DESERVE it? No, we don't and we never did. We also didn't deserve the gift of forgiveness He gave us when His son Jesus died for our sins--His greatest gift, and also a one shot deal. If we mess things up, it's over. We're not getting a  SECOND second chance. He's not going to replace this planet with a new one any more than He's going to send Jesus to die for us once again.

(We can get into the second coming and the millennium of peace at another time. That's a whole different scenario, and one I don't expect greed-driven nay-sayers will participate in. Because, yeah, a new earth is promised--but that's not what we're talking about here. And if that's what some of these people are referencing, they've taken "out of context" to a whole new level. Destroying the earth because we've been promised a second coming is like trashing Christmas morning because another Christmas will come in a year. If my kids trash Christmas, they're getting nothing the next year, I promise you. And the promise of something new is never an excuse to take poor care of what you already have.)

God gave us the gift of intelligence, and scientists use that gift to inform us of the potential harm we will cause if we continue on the blind path we're on. "Faith" is not going to repair the ozone layer or return the ice caps or bring back extinct species.

The bottom line of all these nay-sayers is money. Money NOW, regardless of the future consequences. If you are really a Christian, you should have more concern with the future of the gifts you've been given than with lining the pockets of politicians and conglomerates and big corporations who don't give a nickel's worth of damn for you, your children, your grandchildren or your future home.

Let me ask you a question: When you go into a public bathroom and it's filthy, do you want to use it?
Would you want your own bathroom to look like that?

Do you really want to live in a cesspool?

If you deny the reality of the damage being done to this planet, that's the path you're on. You might as well just quit cleaning your house, your clothes, your body, because in the end, that's what the world will come to. A cesspool. Unbreathable air, undrinkable water, food that can't nourish your body.

And God won't take care of it. He gave you free will. You are supposed to exercise that free will and take care of the things He gave you yourselves.

Trashing these gifts shows your total disrespect for your Father and Savior. You are a bratty child.

Wake up and smell the pollution, people. I want a world that's clean and safe for my children and grandchildren. I'm willing to admit that it won't be easy, but if we don't even try, we're doomed. Stop being brats and open your eyes to the possibilities.

(Naturally, if you are working to reduce your use of fossil fuels, recycle, etc.--this message is not for you. And thank you very much!)
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Okay, let the anger and hate begin.

I've said it before. My page, my thoughts.

Peace.