Thank you for committing to this 30 Day Christian Green Living Challenge with us! Each day as we step through our journey, I’ll share the challenge for the day then, depending on your green goals, I will share resources where you can learn more, dig deeper into the topic, or challenge yourself even more. We will do the challenge once *live* together, but you can participate anytime by joining in on the comments below and by using the hashtag #ChristianGreenLiving. So, when you’re ready, let’s Go Christian Green!
“The Earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.” —Pope Francis
As Christians, we want to love and serve God to the best of our ability. We strive to “love our neighbor as ourselves” (Mark 12:31) and be good stewards of His creation.
Since the very beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis has been calling us to work together to care for common home with love and solidarity for all humankind. He and many Christian leaders before him, are telling us — actually warning us — that we can no longer afford to ignore the “immense pile of filth” that our earth is beginning to resemble.
In my post titled “Five Ways to Fight the Throwaway Culture,” I share that one way to combat the destructive pattern of over-consumption is to make smart, intentional eco-friendly decisions.
Consumption of goods is important and necessary, but we want to make sure that our consumer decisions (food, clothing, etc.) are as earth-friendly as possible and that we reduce our unnecessary consumption in order to curb our wasteful habits.
Today’s Day 22 Challenge:
Do you enjoy shopping and find yourself buying for pleasure rather than need? Have you ever bought new cool things for your kids when they already have too many toys they don’t play with? Have you found yourself replacing things not because they are worn out or can’t be repaired, but because you would really like a new one instead?
Pray
Together let’s direct our minds away from things and turn our hearts towards God’s creation. Let’s ask God to help purify our intentions so that we can each personally take up the fight against the throwaway culture, even if we can only start today with ourselves. May God help us to appreciate all that is beautiful and protect all that he has made good.
Act
Take some time to consider your consumption habits and look for places where you can improve. Try a spending freeze for one week or the remainder of this challenge where you only buy what you and your family really needs. Avoid the temptation to replace things that can last a little bit longer and avoid throwing things away that can be repaired. Make a mental note of each time you are tempted to buy something unnecessary and say a brief prayer instead.
Share
Is this going to be an easy one for you or a pretty tough challenge? I hope you’ll share by comment below and/or using the hashtag #ChristianGreenLiving to share your spending freeze challenges and successes!
Learn More~
- “12 Great Resources to STOP Over-Consumption” — by Darlene Goes Green
Here they deliver almost 200 ways to conserve water and a lot of other great information too. - “Fast Facts — Consumption Statistics” — from Michael Bloch via Green Living Tips
Here you’ll find a long list of consumption stats with linked references. - “21 Surprising Statistics That Reveal How Much Stuff We Actually Own” — by Joshua Becker at Becoming Minimalist
Another great list of stats on American consumption with linked references. - “Overconsumption is Costing Us the Earth and Human Happiness” — The Guardian
Great article featuring Annie Leonard the creator of The Story of Stuff. Good video on consumption at the top of the article.
Click here to go to Day 23
Ready to pin! Thanks for sharing!
Definitely a hard one for me. I’m a deal seeker and I’m always on the lookout for stuff that the kids will need, like buying clothes a next size up if it’s cheap. Will attempt the spending freeze for a week and see how it goes.
It’s going to be a hard one for me too, Erinne. I’ve already caught myself thinking about buying something and remembering the challenge. Thank you for participating and giving it a try! My prayers are with you!