Perspective

Sofia came over yesterday and we got onto the subject of all the ridiculous things we were told or taught growing up, particularly in the church. She told me she went to a christian camp where she had been told, via educational video, that fossils were put into the ground by God to “test us.”

“Do you believe that?” Sofia asks me in a sincere voice.
“What? Haha, no!”

Unfortunately, that’s the Christian that a lot of people encounter. I firmly believe that being a follower of Christ does not require you to check your brain at the door. Not to say that being a believer doesn’t require faith, but God is a God of logic, He invented logic! Not to put Him in a box, but if He wanted to test me, He wouldn’t have to go so far to stick bones in the ground, and I’m pretty sure He knows that.

Upon finding out my beliefs on fossils, and after talking about dinosaurs for awhile, Sofia asks, “Well then, do you believe in global warming?”
I told her I don’t know what the typical conservative Christian view is, but that personally I do. As the conversation progressed, she said that this same educational video described the earth as a sort of cornicopia of resources that was at humankind’s disposal, so regardless of whether or not global warming is “real” or not, that it didn’t really matter because we are just supposed to use and use and use until Christ raptures His church. “Do you believe this?” she asks.
In a nicer way (I hope), I told her I thought that it was ridiculous. I can only hope that Christ takes us tomorrow, but if He doesn’t tomorrow, or twenty years, or two thousand years from now, ultimately this physical world is a gift from God, as James tells us that “every good good and perfect gift comes down from from the Father of lights.” I think that with any gift that God bestows on us, anything from cars and houses to children and spouses (hahaha, ryhmes!), even to the earth itself, is a chance for us to prove ourselves as good stewards. Our gifts are our responsibilities, and it shows love, selflessness, and a grateful attitude when we take care of what we’ve been given.

So the world as a cornicopia of resources idea is anti-Christ to me, because it goes against the example he set for us (to give of ourselves like He did for the church), it seems extremely irresponsible and selfish to live by. 

Agree? Disagree? Thoughts?

On a separate note but same subject line of perspective, have a look through my eyes as I came home this afternoon:

 

My husband took out the trash today (he is so amazing, even before we got married, it’s just something he’s always done automatically. I have never ever have to ask him to do anything. He is such a thoughtful person) and found this TV and this perfectly good office chair, just hanging out by the dumpster. We’re moving out of this place on the 25th of this month and have 0 furniture…maybe someone will throw away a nice, clean, couch?