Saturday, May 03, 2008

I own the world.

I was getting gas today (62$) and I noticed a well-dressed man walking through the pumps on his way into the store. As I was watching him, I noticed that he looked down and saw a snickers wrapper.

He looked at it, kind of kicked it towards the door, and finally he picked it up and put it in the trashcan. My first thought was, "this guy has to be the owner, why else would he pick up trash if it wasn't his property?"

But then I started to think, aren't we the "owners" of the entire world? God created everything, and it's all His, but did not God give us, humans, dominion over the earth and everything in it? Why don't we pick up "trash" with the same mindset of a business owner?

We've been given power and responsibility, and we should take pride in our ownership.

Our pervasive "in case of rapture, this car will be unmanned" mindset has left us consumed with getting the hell out of here while we're forgetting to get the hell out of here. The world is God's but He's given it to us, leased it to us in a way, and I believe we're charged with the responsibility to take care of it, to grow it and to watch it thrive.

So, next time instead of walking by the wrapper, or practicing your soccer dribbling with the bottle, what if you just grabbed it, and took it to the nearest trashcan?

In that way, we're taking it, and giving it back to God.

In that way, we're getting the hell out of here. While we're still here.

1 comment:

Holly said...

Under inspiration by Amanda (the eloped roommate), I went through a "yes God" stage. It still comes back frequently, but not as intense as back then. Anyhow, something about being so decisively in this "yes God" mode made me constantly wonder and listen for God things. One of the things that came the most often was exactly what you just blogged about. Walking past trash and getting that itching feeling that I should pick it up. As I mumbled "yes God" under my breath I'd turn around and pick it up. I'm not saying for sure that God led me to pick it up, but there was no certainty that He didn't either. I agree with you. Being a Christian doesn't just mean being nice to people or doing good when people are looking. I believe Jesus did plenty more amazing things than the Bible even lists, because He was doing good even when no one was around, when no one was looking. And you know what? That "yes God" stage was surprisingly rewarding to me. You've inspired a "yes God" relapse.

Once again, "Amen brother".