Climate Change and the Gospel?
Before we get started, I first want to first provide some context as to who I am and why I am writing this. It will help to know where I am coming from as you read this. I am a sophomore at a bible college and when I graduate, I hope to teach in a public elementary school. I don’t like posting my thoughts on the internet for others to read, so this is a stretch for me!
Over the next couple of months, I will be engaging with culture and the books that I am reading for my class, Christian Perspectives: Sin and Culture. The two books are Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate by Jerry Bridges and Sex and Money: Pleasures that Leave you Empty and Grace that Satisfies by Paul Tripp. Throughout my posts, I will be looking at what the world says in media and comparing it to the books that I am reading for the class. Let’s get started on this adventure with a pressing topic that is in today’s news!
It seems like a lot of people today are freaking out about climate change and maybe you are one of those people. It seems like those in Generation Z are the most worried about this. When it comes to the topic of anxiety and worrying about climate change there are so many articles that speak into this. One of those articles is called “The Environmental Burden of Generation Z” published by the Washington Post Magazine. Here is the link for the article in case you want to read it: https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2020/02/03/eco-anxiety-is-overwhelming-kids-wheres-line-between-education-alarmism/?arc404=true.
Jason Plautz, writer of the article, describes the fears that climate change is having on kids specifically those in Generation Z. Generation Z consist of those born between the years of 1995 and 2012. He shares different stories from different perspectives on how students are dealing with climate change. He states, “Teachers hear their students talk about panic attacks when wildfires break out, and psychologists face young patients weeping about their fear of never having a family” (Plautz). This is something that is becoming very real in the classroom and things need to be done. Students are thinking that they are going to die from climate change, not from old age. Plautz claims that the world doesn’t know how to handle these fears, but I believe that there is a way to calm the fears. As a future teacher, it is frightening that so many students are worried about this when there are greater things to worry about and other areas that their energy could be going towards. I think there are a couple of things to think about when it comes to battling the anxiety of climate change.
Jerry Bridges, author of Respectable Sins, notes that sin seems to have disappeared in today’s culture, so people don’t see worrying as a sin which is dangerous. This sin is serious in God’s eyes because sin is sin. Bridges states, “But it [sin] has not disappeared from the sight of God. Rather, all sin, both the so-called respectable sins of the saints, which we too often tolerate, and the flagrant sins of society, which we are quick to condemn, are a disregard for the law of God and are reprehensible in His sight. Both deserve the curse of God” (22). Anxiety about climate change is an example of global suffering. Even though people and all of creation are under the curse, one day everything will be made whole again. Isaiah 65:17 says, “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind” (New International Version).
It won’t happen overnight for people to stop panicking about climate change, but small steps can start to be taken. First off, I think we need to make people aware that worrying about climate change can be a sin if it takes over their life. All sin is a result of what is in the heart, so I think people need to stop and examine their own heart. What is causing your worry? Do you want control over what happens? After thinking about those questions, I think people will start to see where their heart is at. I think that another way to help people who are struggling with climate change is to remind them that this earth is not our final home and God is still in control even in the midst of this. Yes, we obviously need to be doing what we can to save the earth, but only God has full control over what happens. The author of Proverbs 20:9 asks, “Who can say, ‘I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin?’” (NIV). Every person is guilty of sin, but they have a choice. They can keep living in sin or run to Jesus.
I want to leave you with something to think about this week. Jason Plautz asks, “How do you prepare today’s children for a world defined by environmental trauma without inflicting more trauma yourself? And where do you find the line between responsible education and undue alarmism?” As a teacher how can you help your students deal with this worry whether you teach in a public or private school? How can you lead your students to the Gospel?
Works Cited
Plautz, Jason. “Eco-Anxiety Is Overwhelming Kids. Where’s the Line between Education and Alarmism?” The Washington Post, WP Company, 3 Feb. 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2020/02/03/eco-anxiety-is-overwhelming-kids-wheres-line-between-education-alarmism/?arc404=true.
The Holy Bible: New International Version. Zondervan, 2005.
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