Lynne Baab

Worshipping God the Creator: voluntary simplicity

Thursday July 14 2016

As we slow down to experience the joy of this moment in this particular place in God’s creation, we understand more deeply God’s call to be careful stewards of all that God made. Part of that stewardship needs to be a reevaluation of the way we live in our consumer society.

Day and night the beauty of nature speaks to us of God’s greatness and calls us to praise and prayer. Day and night our consumer culture is also speaking to us, but the message is very different.

“More is better.” “If you are feeling sad, discouraged, or sexually unattractive, you will feel much, much better if you buy something.” “Shop ’till you drop.” These messages are pervasive. We encounter these voices in advertisements, TV sitcoms and talk shows, movies, magazines, newspapers, shop displays and throughout the online world.

Our consumer culture seriously gets in the way of faithful stewardship of creation in a variety of ways. Possessions cost money, and many of us have to work harder to pay for our many things. The extra time spent working makes us hurried and scattered, much less able to be intentional about the way we live. Possessions have to be shopped for, maintained, repaired, and housed, which requires time and effort that might have been spent doing something more restful and spiritually restoring. Everything we buy had to be made somewhere and then transported to us. The factories that make things and the trucks that transport things are often serious polluters.

Richard Foster is very blunt in describing the seriousness of the consumer messages from our culture: “Our need for security has led us into an insane attachment to things. We really must understand that the lust for affluence in contemporary society is psychotic. It is psychotic because it has completely lost touch with reality. We crave things we neither need nor enjoy.” Foster believes we get sucked into consumerism because “we lack a divine Center.”^[1]

One Christian response to consumerism is voluntary simplicity, choosing to live below the level of affluence that we can afford, for the purpose of slowing down consumption, living more intentionally, and striving to be more connected to what God desires for us. Many people who choose voluntary simplicity have a strong commitment to honoring God as creator, because living more simply serves both the earth and the poor of the world. Voluntary simplicity has a particular appeal at midlife as we desire to strip away the extraneous possessions, commitments and values in our lives and embrace what really matters to us.

Voluntary simplicity is not another “should” or “ought.” People who practice simplicity express enthusiasm for the joy they have experienced in embracing a different set of values than the ones promoted by our culture. They talk about the beauty in the words “less can be more.” To understand the joy of simplicity, think for a moment about the difference between a huge bouquet of flowers and a single rose. Sometimes the huge bouquet is appropriate, but sometimes the single rose is the best option because it is more restful, and its beauty is not obscured by a lot of other flowers.

Our culture tells us that huge bouquets, composed of a wide variety of different flowers, are always best. We live, in effect, so surrounded by huge bouquets that we are overwhelmed by them. Simplicity offers a kind of beauty that is spare, clean, pure, and straightforward.

As we begin to see more clearly the sickness of living by consumer values, the beauty of nature can be a source of soothing balm. If I go shopping, I am constantly faced with my desire to possess, and I have to fight against the lust for things that lies just below the surface of my soul. If I walk in some upscale neighborhoods not far from my home, I find myself lusting after huge homes and beautifully manicured gardens. If I go for a walk in a park, however, I can focus on the ducks on the lake, the clouds in the sky, and the wind on my face. There is no way I can possess those things, so I am briefly free from all the seductive desires that sweep across my mind.

Simplicity and looking for God’s hand in creation can reinforce each other in a life-giving ebb and flow. Embracing simplicity can help us slow down enough to hear the voice of creation calling us to draw near to the Creator. At the same time, slowing down enough to appreciate nature can help us desire to simplify our lives and focus on what is really important to us. These complimentary forces can be very helpful and encouraging.

This is the seventh post in a series on worshipping God as Creator. Earlier posts:
     Nature calls us to worship         
     The Creation invites us to join in praise         
     The Bible and Creation         
     Some thoughts from midlife interviews         
     The good creation         
     Creation care         

(Next week: a wonderful example of the joy of voluntary simplicity. This post is excerpted from my book, A Renewed Spirituality. Illustration by Dave Baab. If you'd like to receive an email when I post on this blog, sign up under "subscribe" in the right hand column.)

[1] Richard Foster, “The Discipline of Simplicity” inSimpler Living, Compassionate Life, p. 182.

Worshipping God the Creator: Creation care

Tuesday July 5 2016

I majored in biology in college. Some of my most intense worship experiences occurred in biology lab looking through a microscope at algae’s glowing green complex structures or the diverse shapes of bacteria. For my last two years of college, I worked as a lab assistant for an astronomy professor, and I loved learning about the vastness of interstellar space. The hugeness of the universe and the smallness of tiny biological structures spoke to me of the greatness of God the Creator. I had then, and I still have today, a deep reverence for the creation as God’s handiwork. It seemed obvious to me then and it seems obvious to me today that caring for the environment is part of Christian discipleship.

When I graduated from college in the mid-seventies, no one else seemed to share that conviction. I have been delighted in recent years to watch an increasing commitment among Christians to care for the environment. A Christian college in Seattle sponsors a seminar for freshman on Christians and the environment. Many of the quotations in this series of blog posts come from a book of sermons on caring for creation, The Best Preaching on Earth: Sermons on Caring for Creation. Another book, Cherish the Gift: A Congregational Guide to Earth Stewardship, by Cindy Ubben Causey, provides practical suggestions for Christian congregations that would like to be more faithful in their stewardship of the earth, and that is only one of many books on that topic. All of these are signs to me that Christians are increasingly engaged in the issues of caring for the earth.

Most of us have also experienced sadness at the way nature has been damaged by human carelessness and greed. This abundant earth that God created no longer feeds all its inhabitants because humans have selfishly divided up its riches in inequitable way. Natural disasters and droughts have stunned us by their impact on people we care about.

For many, all the evil we have glimpsed makes the beauty of creation even more precious. It is a mystery how our awe and wonder at God’s creation can coexist with so much sadness because of the evil that pervades nature and human nature. Yet the creation keeps speaking to us, telling us how awesome God is.

In Romans 8, the Apostle Paul talks about the fact that the whole creation was subjected to futility because of human sin. In fact, Paul writes, the creation itself groans, just as we do, waiting for the time of final redemption. The earth is not in its normal state, the way God created it. Human sin has marred human life; our sin has also had a disastrous impact on the creation.

In Hosea 4:1-3, the prophet describes human sin: faithlessness, lack of loyalty, lying, cursing, stealing, murder, adultery, and bloodshed. Because of this, Hosea says, “The land mourns, and all who live in it languish; together with the wild animals and the birds of the air, even the fish of the sea are perishing.” This passage could have been written today.

Howard Snyder writes that the Biblical picture is not just a story of God and his people. “It is the story of God, the people, and the land. . . . Thus the Bible shows us that mistreating the earth is one of the clearest evidences of human sinfulness. We continue to sin against the earth – God’s creation – when we pollute the earth, waste the earth’s resources, or fail to practice good stewardship of the land entrusted to our care.” [1]

As the preciousness of God’s good creation becomes more real and more vivid, we realize the fragility of the beautiful earth. Many become more motivated to work for the protection of the environment as a part of their Christian commitment.

This movement towards creation stewardship by Christians coincides nicely with an increased interest these days in mindfulness and in thankfulness prayers, which help us experience an increased awareness of the wonder of creation.

This is the sixth post in a series on worshipping God as Creator. Earlier posts:
     Nature calls us to worship         
     The Creation invites us to join in praise         
     The Bible and Creation         
     Some thoughts from midlife interviews         
     The good creation             

(Next week: the spiritual practice of simplicity as a form of caring for Creation. This post is excerpted from my book, A Renewed Spirituality. Illustration: Field National Park, Tasmania, by Dave Baab. If you'd like to receive an email when I post on this blog, sign up under "subscribe" in the right hand column.)

[1] Howard Snyder, “This World is Not My Home,” in The Best Preaching on Earth, Stan L. LeQuire, ed. (Valley Forge, Penn.: Judson Press, 1996), p. 46.

Worshipping God the Creator: The good creation

Wednesday June 29 2016

The heavens and the earth were created by God. At the end of each day of creation, God looked at what he had made and declared it “good.” The description of creation in the first two chapters of Genesis is one of the most beautiful pieces of literature ever written, emphasizing God’s power to create and the wonder and beauty of his work in creation.

Ron Sider, in a sermon entitled “Tending the Garden without Worshipping It,” argues that the Bible teaches that the "material world is so good that the one who created all things and pronounced them very good actually became flesh. The material world is so good that Jesus rose bodily from the tomb. The material world is so good that all believers will be resurrected bodily to dance and revel in a renewed creation when the Lord returns. That’s how good the material world is. Consequently, God wants you and me to rejoice now in the good earth’s bounty." [1]

Sider goes on to call us to a passionate commitment to Jesus Christ that manifests the truth that nothing in life is more important than our love of Jesus. This kind of love, he believes, will result in care for the poor as well as care for the environment.

Soon after God created humans, he gave them the task of “tilling and tending” the garden (Gen. 2:15). For those of us who live in an urban setting, it may be hard to imagine what those commands imply for us. At times I have grown vegetables in my back yard. Is that what is meant by God’s command to “till and tend” the garden?

Calvin DeWitt, a theologian and professor of environmental studies, points out the range of meaning of these words. The Hebrew word translated “till” can also mean dress, work, or serve. The word translated “tend” can also be translated as keep, take care of, guard, or look after. The root word that lies behind “tend” indicates a loving, caring, sustaining kind of keeping. DeWitt asks, “How on earth can we serve creation? Shouldn’t creation serve us instead?” [2]

DeWitt, like Sider, believes that the first call is to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, and out of that discipleship will come concern for the care and sustaining of creation. Serving and taking care of the garden, which he takes to mean the whole created world, will mean careful use of resources, striving to find our contentment in God rather than in things, and enjoyment of creation without destroying it. DeWitt also argues that as a part of caring for creation, we need to give animals and plants the kind of Sabbath rests that are proscribed in the Old Testament. All of this is necessary because of the human propensity to use things up, rather than use things carefully in a way that protects the earth for future generations.

In a sermon entitled “This World is Not My Home?” Howard Snyder lays out some helpful principles to guide our thinking about the earth.

So we see, then, these four great truths in the Bible concerning our earthly home:
1. The earth is good, not bad.
2. The earth is diseased and disordered because of sin.
3. The earth is our responsibility as God’s stewards.
4. The earth will be judged and restored.

How should this make a difference in the way we, as Christians, live?
1. We may enjoy God’s good creation and praise God for it.
2. We may live before the world as good stewards of the earth. Christians should be at the forefront of modeling good stewardship principles, including care of creation. Minimally, this certainly includes recycling, healthy eating, and supporting sound environmental policies in government and business.
3. We may honor and support those Christian whom God calls to a ministry to the earth.
4. We can teach and model earth stewardship to our children.
5. We can continue to study Scripture to learn what it says about the earth. For too long, many vital texts have been overlooked by the church. We can correct this blind spot by searching out God’s vision for the earth.[3]

These straightforward principles can stimulate a great deal of pondering and discussion.

This is the fifth post in a series on worshipping God as Creator. Earlier posts:
     Nature calls us to worship         
     The Creation invites us to join in praise         
     The Bible and Creation         
     Some thoughts from midlife interviews         
             
(Next week: more on earth stewardsip. This post is excerpted from my book, A Renewed Spirituality. Illustration: Coromandel sunrise by Dave Baab. If you'd like to receive an email when I post on this blog, sign up under "subscribe" in the right hand column.)

[1] Ron Sider, “Tending the Garden without Worshipping It,” The Best Preaching on Earth, Stan L. LeQuire, ed. (Valley Forge, Penn.: Judson Press, 1996), p. 37.

[2] Calvin DeWitt, “Creation’s Care and Keeping,” Simpler Living, Compassionate Life, ed. Michael Schut (Denver: Living the Good News, 1999), p. 176.

[3] Howard Snyder, “This World is Not My Home,” The Best Preaching on Earth: Sermons on Caring for Creation, p. 52, 53.

Worshipping God the Creator: some thoughts from midlife interviews

Thursday June 23 2016

I wrote last week about Psalm 103 and 104. When read together, they give a picture of the God of relationship who redeems and heals human beings and calls them into relationship with him, the same God who created and sustains the physical universe. I am concerned that this balanced view of God has been missing from Christian life in the twentieth century. We are good at acknowledging God as our redeemer, the righteous one who communicates to us through the Bible and calls us into relationship through his son, Jesus. Yet we have neglected to see God’s handiwork in nature as a call to prayer and praise. We have missed something central to the Old Testament understanding of who God is and how God communicates.

Maybe this omission comes from our fear that we will be viewed as pantheists if we talk about God’s hand in creation. Maybe the pervasive emphasis of New Age thinking has made us fearful that we will lose a Biblical perspective if we think too highly of creation. The New Testament doesn’t talk as much about God the Creator as the Psalms do, and maybe we are concerned that we need to faithfully reflect the priorities of the New Testament. Maybe we like viewing ourselves as autonomous human beings who don’t need to depend on God for every breath and every meal. I don’t know for sure what has caused the focus on God the Redeemer while neglecting God the Creator, but I do know that we are missing something wonderful.

When I did the interviews for my midlife books (Embracing Midlife and A Renewed Spirituality), many people at midlife [1] told me about the growing sense of awe and wonder they experience in nature. They feel connected to God as they see God’s amazing creativity in daffodils, elephants, storm clouds, and blazing sunsets. They experience a closer connection to their bodies, a part of God’s creation. This may take the form of smelling roses or enjoying the feel of the wind on their face. It may take the form of new physical activities such as dancing, yoga, or weight lifting. It motivated quite a few interviewees to be more creative themselves. Whatever form it takes, it is consistent with the joy and wonder that the psalm writers experienced when they considered the wonders of creation.

During my midlife years, I observed in myself a growing sense of joy in the beauty of creation. Each spring seemed more beautiful than the one before. When I first began noticing the increased beauty of spring each year, I thought the weather was changing in some way to make the flowers more abundant. Then I realized the change was inside me. Each year, I simply noticed more. God has changed my heart so I saw his hand in nature more clearly.

That increased ability to notice the details in nature is intimately connected with my awareness of God’s presence in my life. I am full of awe that God would lavish such creativity on the variety of rhododendron flowers, the tiny spots on the petals, the subtle variations of color, the overall blast of color when observed from a distance. Surely if God cares so much about plants, he must care for me. Surely if he has taken such care with the design of rhododendrons, he must care about the design of my life, and he must be shepherding me as I go about my daily life. The beauty of nature gives me great comfort because it speaks to me of the abundance of God’s grace.

A contemporary praise song, “Indescribable” by Chris Tomlin, captures this blend of awe at God’s detailed and extravagant beauty in nature and God’s care for me (you can listen to it here):

From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation's revealing Your majesty
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night
None can fathom

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God

Incomparable, unchangeable
You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same
You are amazing God
 

This is the fourth post in a series on worshipping God as Creator. Earlier posts:
     Nature calls us to worship         
     The Creation invites us to join in praise         
     The Bible and Creation         
             

(This post is excerpted from my book, A Renewed Spirituality. Next week: the good creation. Illustration by Dave Baab. If you'd like to receive an email when I post on this blog, sign up under "subscribe" in the right hand column.)

[1] People always ask me what age is midlife. Definitions vary. For my books, I defined midlife as 35-55. I am currently supervising a Ph.D. student who is studying spirituality at midlife, and she defines midlife as 40-60.

Worshipping God the Creator: The Bible and Creation

Friday June 17 2016

I’ve written the past two weeks about the way that Creation calls us to worship and praise God (here and here). We are called to praise God, as is the whole creation. “Praise him, sun and moon, praise him all you shining stars! . . . Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created” (Ps 148:3-5).

Psalm 104 is the most extensive piece of Biblical literature that focuses on God as creator and sustainer of the universe. John Stott calls it “perhaps the earliest essay in ecology in the literature of the world.” ^[1] It opens with the words:

Bless the Lord, O my soul.
O Lord my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with honor and majesty
Wrapped with light as with a garment.
You stretch out the heavens like a tent,
You set the beams of your chambers on the waters (Ps 104:1-3).

The psalm goes on to describe the way God created the earth and the way he sustains it with water and food. The language is amazingly concrete: springs gush forth, grass grows for cattle. Specific animals and plants are mentioned: cedars, storks, young lions, wild goats. The psalmist says all the plants and animals look to God for food in their season. In fact, it is God who takes away the breath of animals when they die, and it is God who gives the breath that enables them to live.

After 30 verses describing God’s hand in nature, the psalmist bursts out, “May the glory of the Lord endure forever,” then continues, “I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being” (verses 31 and 33).

Psalm 104 seems to be a partner to Psalm 103, which focuses on God as Redeemer. Psalm 103 and 104, taken together, give a picture of the God of relationship who redeems and heals human beings and calls them into relationship with him, who is the same God who created and sustains the physical universe. Often the psalms flow seamlessly from praising God as creator to praising God for his compassion, his justice, his righteousness.

Throughout the psalms, there is a pattern of God’s revelation in both nature and in his word.  Psalm 19 says, “The heavens are telling the glory of God” (verse 1). Later in the same psalm, in verses 7-10, the psalmist describes the wonders of the law of the Lord, the written revelation of God. God has made himself known to us through the creation and also through his special communication with humans in the Bible and in his son, Jesus Christ. Nature alone cannot teach us all we need to know about God. Yet when we neglect seeing God’s hand in nature, we miss a powerful call to worship and a deep connection with the humility that comes from knowing we are created beings dependent on our Creator God.

One aspect of that dependence comes from the way that God sustains the physical world, stressed in Psalm 104 and repeated elsewhere:

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving,
make melody to our God on the lyre.
He covers the heavens with clouds,
prepares rain for the earth,
makes grass grow in the hills.
He gives to the animals their food,
and to the young ravens when they cry (Ps 147:7-9).

I love the strong affirmation in Job 12:7-12 that the created order teaches us that we are utterly dependent on God:

But ask the animals, and they will teach you;
the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you;
and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
Who among all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?
In his hand is the life of every living thing,
and the breath of every human being.

Maybe part of why Christians haven’t always put a lot of emphasis on joining with creation in praising God is that we don’t like admitting our utter dependence on the One who sustains our every breath.

(This is the third post in a series on worshipping God as Creator. This post is excerpted from my book, A Renewed Spirituality. More on this topic next week. Illustration: Kapiti Island by Dave Baab. If you'd like to receive an email when I post on this blog, sign up under "subscribe" in the right hand column. All biblical quotations from the NRSV.)

[1] John R. W. Stott, “The Works of the Lord,” The Best Preaching on Earth: Sermons on Caring for Creation, Stan L. LeQuire, ed. (Valley Forge, Pa.: Judson Press, 1996), 82.