Greenhouse Gases- Friend or Foe?

Thirty people are riding in a truck down a dusty road in Central Africa when the fanbelt breaks. The truck is overheating and can’t run without the belt. There is no phone, and the nearest auto part store is 30 miles back down the dusty road. It seems that there is a big problem. What did they do in the situation? Sulk? Did they yell and scream? Did they find someone to blame? Nope, they cut up the seat belt and used it as a replacement for the fan belt so they could limp into the next major town. That is what I call resourcefulness and appreciation of what is on hand. This solution to the problem came when they identified the seat belt by its qualities.

This situation a friend of mine experienced in Africa demonstrated that many of the problems we face can be solved by thinking about them with a fresh outlook. Each person associates this inspiration from different sources. I believe that the divine Intelligence of the universe –God- is constantly offering fresh outlooks; we just need to listen and be receptive.

This fresh outlook from God is important when approaching a particular problem that seems to loom large over the news today, climate change and the predicted effects that it will have on the earth in the future. There seems to be a problem that there are too many by-products from past energy creation that are considered harmful or poisonous. Furthermore there appears to be a limited supply of energy that can be used without creating more byproduct. This perceived limited supply does not seem to represent a cycle that is balanced; instead it suggests that it is one that is very finite. This perception is heavily grounded on the basis of a purely physical inspection and does not take into account inspiration and divine guidance. However, if we approach the situation from a perspective of the unlimited nature of divine Intelligence, we discover that the blessings are infinite and there is no limit on the inspiration we have from God.

It is very possible that when we open our thoughts to a spiritual view of the issues, solutions which we did not think existed will become foreseeable. With the infinite nature of God and his blessings, there must be a solution available that not only makes the allegedly harmful byproducts harmless but also useful. In this way we will be able to enjoy the truly sustainable nature of God’s gifts.

For inspiration I like to turn to the Bible. In the first chapter of Genesis, we are told that God completed his “very good” work and on the 7^th day rested. His/Her heaven and earth was finished and was not a “starter kit” that could be ruined, it was a harmonious, perfect creation. In the same chapter we find that God gave man dominion over all the earth, not a limited power for certain individuals with money or natural resources but a practical law, that when applied properly brings health and wholeness into any situation.

If we start with the idea that all of God’s creation is good and already finished then nothing exists that can be harmful or even useless. Mary Baker Eddy expressed this view in part of her definition of earth, “A sphere; a type of eternity and immortality, which are likewise without beginning or end.” (p585) This limitless basis described in her definition can be used to help expand thinking past the potentially harmful nature of something into a more freeing view of its usefulness.

The current popular method of thinking, based on a love of a finite earth or fear for future lack will not move towards the glory of seeing God’s creation as He/She saw it on day seven of creation. It is always helpful to be able to see examples of God’s restoring law in action so that we can turn from fear towards solutions that bless all. In the following examples I find that a troubling situation is replaced by harmony and harm is replaced by health when glimpsing more of God’s creation.

One weekend, while serving in Peace Corps in Africa, I went on a long hike into the hills. As I progressed further and further away from my village, there were fewer water sources. I was prepared for this and had brought some tablets to purify water. The only water source I could find was near a small shack way up in the hills. There were goats walking in and around it so it was not the cleanest but it seemed my only option. Once I filled up my container, I found that the water treatment tablets were useless because the bottle’s cap had broken previously, exposing the tablets to air and ruining them. A day after the hike I was having difficulty retaining food, it seemed the impurity of the water was causing me physical difficulty. In two days, I was scheduled to go to a regional capitol for a conference where I would help teach students about gender equality. At this point I had a choice to make, whether to accept the idea that I was ill from drinking harmful water and possibly miss the activity or to prayerfully turn to God to find inspiration. I chose the second and prayed to realize that nothing God made could be harmful or poisonous, therefore I could claim my wholeness and well being. Not only was I quickly healed, but I regained my appetite and strength. I made it to the conference without problem and the inspiration I gained from this situation proved quite helpful. To me this healing proved that the presence of this divine inspiration, or Christ, can help demonstrate our God-given dominion in the face of challenges.

In the book of Second Kings in the Bible, it is told that the Prophet Elisha arrived in Gilgal which was experiencing a famine. He sent his servant to gather herbs and fruits for a soup for “the sons of the prophets” that gathered. When they tried the soup they tasted bitterness and this led them to believe that there was “death in the pot.” At this point it would have been easy to believe that even a simple mistake such as gathering the wrong plant could cause others to suffer. This seems very much the mentality of today’s thought about the environment. It seems in the years past, people, knowingly or unknowingly, have damaged the once perfect planet by poor handling of resources. Even worse is the guilt they might feel if they buy into the idea that one country’s careless actions have doomed another poorer country.

The prophet did not take this line of thinking. Instead he turned to God for inspiration, and he was led to cast meal or flour into the pot. And he then told his servant to pour out the soup for them to eat as there was no harm in the pot. The Matthew Poole Bible Commentary points out that meal could not have taken away the “hurtful” quality of the soup in such a short time but instead it was God’s blessing. I take it to mean that inspiration was cast into the pot, displacing the fear of a mistake. I am sure that they were all happy that no one was harmed by the alleged poison, and even more so that they were able to eat in the time of famine. I believe that the biggest blessing was that they got to see God’s law in action. This story demonstrates that the appreciation of the limitless harmless nature of God’s creation overturns the limited view.

I recently read about a group of people that were working to better appreciate our present resources. The group at University of California, San Diego demonstrated the ability to exploit sunlight to transform a greenhouse gas into a useful product (Science Daily, April 18,2007). The process is not optimized but points towards a solution. In some ways it is helpful to remember that no matter how big the problem, God is bigger. In the Christian Science Hymnal, hymn number 40 has a verse that is very comforting in expectantly looking forward. “Earth has no sorrow that Love cannot cure.” This clearly expresses that divine Love’s nature is to care, tend, and improve all things.

Through my prayers I feel I have benefited from a sense of balance between knowing God’s dominion and the current focus on conservation. A story from the 6^th Chapter of John in the Bible helped keep this in perspective. When Jesus fed the multitude with loaves and fishes that seemed to miraculously appear, afterwards he told his disciples to gather up what is left so none is lost. Obviously after multiplying fishes and loaves by magnitudes he must not have been worried about limitations of food, but more so it seems he appreciated the spiritual quality of that food which is unlimited in God’s creation. Jesus demonstrated that every morsel represents something greater than just a piece of food. That true gratitude would not only include abundance of supply but a deep appreciation of what is on hand. A quote from the chapter on marriage in Science and Health demonstrates this further “Said the peasant bride to her lover: ‘Two eat no more together than they eat separately.’ This is a hint that a wife ought not to court vulgar extravagance or stupid ease, because another supplies her wants.” (P58) I interpret this as guidance that even as we recognize that God can easily supply all our needs it is critical to be appreciative of everything down to a seed of grain.

One practical step I am now taking is reusing “disposable” plastic bags. I started with identifying the spiritual qualities of a plastic bag such as order, cleanliness, and simplicity. I realized that by reusing the bag, I could focus more on the infinite nature of those qualities and appreciate the utility of the bag on a spiritual level. I did not need to be guided by a sense of guilt or fear but a great appreciation, which made the process easier and to use a popular term, more sustainable. In conserving water, I work to recognize its activity as an expression of God’s qualities. Conserving electricity is less about fear of lack and more about appreciation of the intelligence of using less to meet my human needs.

I found it helpful to remember that these demonstrations of healing, whether in my experience or in the Bible, are not just about making a temporary fix for hunger/thirst or a temporary reprieve from material problems. Instead they are an opportunity to better understand the limitless nature of God’s creation.

This mentality of appreciation recently paid dividends, in a way that I could not have planned. I was out riding my bike and passed through a parking lot where I saw a sofa with a ripped cushion by a dumpster. I went and got my truck and took it back to my apartment. I realized at the time that I did not need the sofa and did not have a place to put it, but I took it home anyway. After having the sofa sit on my porch for a few days, I got my answer as to how the sofa – previously discarded – could be utilized the best. An apartment building in the city had caught on fire and almost 200 families were affected. I was able to donate the sofa to the organization helping the displaced families and it was warmly accepted. The sofa became valuable by looking past a ripped cushion into the usefulness it still expressed.

In each of these experiences the limited or harmful view of something was overturned and more of God’s creation was seen, as it was created, intact. As we begin to appreciate the lasting qualities of what is present in our experience, we can also appreciate, that while temporarily unseen, a solution exists for the situation facing this planet, and it is just a matter of listening for the inspiration that will guide us in practical healing ways. It might even lead us in the opposite direction of what we thought, like using the greenhouse gases to our advantage. As our understanding of our true dominion expands, we can overcome the fear of dire predictions and we can work to realize a true balanced cycle in which all are blessed.