Over the last few years, I have wondered why being green is so important to so many of my generation. Sustainability, good stewardship and doing the right thing by living gently on the earth are an extension of my theology. A theology which above all is grounded in relationships.

When we first moved into our house, Kirk and I had a conversation that went something like this

Kirk: While we’re working on these projects (home improvement) it’s worth it to me to spend the extra dollars to be as environmentally friendly as we can.

Me: Why?

Kirk: Because we’re not the only people living on this planet.

Me: Yeah but why does that matter?

Kirk: Because we have a responsibility to share resources and take care of the world.

Me: Yeah, but why?

Kirk: Because we have kids and people living on the other side of the planet have kids and I don’t want to leave mess….

We went on like this for about 10 minutes but you get the idea. At the time I was working on a little research project on whether or not the church is relevant and I was pushing the question because I wondered if Kirk would eventually get to a moral/religious reason for green living. He didn’t and I don’t think that he is unusual. In fact I think he’s likely more the norm. Generation X is not a church going generation but there is this green thing we have. And at its core, I believe it is a relational thing.

I may not know a single person who lives in China but I am horrified to read news stories of computer components being dumped and then mined for the metals – a process which spews toxins into the air and the water sources. I am horrified enough to try to fix and update our five-year-old computer as long as we possibly can to avoid participating in the dumping. Because, whether I want to or not, as a consumer, I have a relationship with the people who make a living mining metals from dumped computers.

So why is important to save the world? Wish I knew the answer… but I think it has something to do with relationships. Relationships to other people and to a divine presence. While I don’t think a devotion to the environment can replace organized religion, I wonder if green theology would engage Generation X in way that I haven’t seen in the mainline denominations.

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