Energy-Rich Lifestyle and the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man.
- Most of us, myself included, are reluctant to adjust your energy-rich lifestyle.
- Recall Jesus' parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man. There was a very wealthy man who lived in riches and splendor. He ate the finest foods, while a poor beggar, Lazarus, lay outside his gate desiring to eat the Rich Man's table scraps. But the Rich Man took no notice of Lazarus. Only the Rich Man's dogs took pity on Lazarus by licking his wounds. When Lazarus died he went to heaven, whereas, the Rich Man went to hell. (Luke 16:19-31.)
- Jesus is teaching us that we must not enjoy our wealth while ignoring the suffering of those less fortunate than ourselves.
- In the context of global warming, this parable teaches us that we should be willing to make some adjustments to our energy-rich lifestyle to mitigate the suffering of future generations. Would you agree?
Concern That Actions Are Ineffective and Parable of the Widow's Offering
- I understand that you have a concern that even if we act to limit greenhouse gases, we will not have any effect because other countries-including India and China-will continue to emit greenhouse gases. Is this correct?
- Recall Jesus' parable of the Widow's Offering. In this parable, many rich people placed large sums of money into the temple's treasury to maintain the temple, whereas a poor widow only put a penny into the treasury. Jesus praised the widow for her penny offering. (Mark 12: 41-44.)
- Obviously, the widow's offering made little difference to the temple maintenance-it was only a penny. But she was the most faithful worshipper in Jesus' eyes, because she gave all that she had.
- In the context of global warming, we are called to be faithful in doing what we can to curb greenhouse gases, no matter how insignificant (or how effective) we think our actions may be.
Moral Decision vs. Business-Economic Decision
- As Christians, if we take seriously God's charge to be stewards of God's creation and the Second Great Commandment to love future generations, our global warming decisions become moral decisions. Would you agree?
- As a moral decision-as opposed to a business-economic decision-we must act out of moral conscience and not be dissuaded by what others are doing. Would you agree?
- Would you agree we must not let what India or China are doing control our decision?
