Housework

I am back from a few days in the mountains and thinking about the question, “How green is green enough?”  The earth is definitely getting messed up, but what should I do about it?  It seems we humans make messes wherever we go.  The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is the latest big example, but there are plenty others.  BP is not the only one fouling the ocean.  I’ve seen ocean shores awash with plastic bottles in Haiti, drink cans in the Cherokee National Forest, and cigarette butts almost anywhere imaginable.  The air may be smoggy, but the conclusion is clear:  We are making a mess.

Of course we humans are not the only ones making messes.  If you have ever owned anything, you know it is a constant battle to keep it from falling apart.  My house is the biggest example for me.  The sun bakes my house paint.  Woodpeckers dig in my siding.  Tree leaves fall in my pool.  Ground squirrels dig holes in my yard and other, more yucky varmits occasionally leave their droppings in my garage.  Even the ants have devised a plan to dig all the dirt out from under my concrete driveway so it can crack in a million pieces.  I believe their queen has declared war.

Every home purchase comes with a to-do list that never ends.  The notepad is longer than the mortgage term because things get written to the list faster than you can cross them off.  It seems I spend most Saturdays fighting to keep the small stuff off the list while the big things keep adding on.  The only solution is to prioritize.  Learn what must be done, and what should wait.  The list can’t rule your life or you’ll die with a beautiful house and a bunch of regrets.  So, back to the original question.  How green is green enough?

I don’t know how green is green enough.  However, when I think about my earthly home, there are a few things I do believe:

1) The earth is not my mother.  It is my home . . .for now.  Just like my house, the earth was built for me, not the other way around.
2) The Builder did a magnificent job.
3) The Builder fully intended for me to care for my house.  God planted the garden, but Adam had to tend it.
4) People are more important than houses, but people need houses.  Sometimes the house must sacrifice for the people (you should see how my son’s room suffers) but if you sacrifice the whole house, everybody suffers.
5) Someday, we’ll get a whole new house.  Until then, we should enjoy and take care of this one. 

How do we know if we are doing enough to protect our earthly home?  I don’t know.   What I do know is that we need to keep working on that to-do list.  Keep in mind, we don’t really own the house.  We’re just tennants, and the Landlord is watching.

The earth is the LORD’S, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.
        -Psalm 24:1  NKJV