We spent a weekend with friends at what the MO residents call The Lake, and it was a ton of fun. During our weekend, Allison and I kept a separate bag for recycling, even though the place we were staying didn’t have that as an option. At the close of the weekend our trash bag was much smaller than our recycling bag, but we had no place to take it, so I decided that we could just pack in the car and we would bring it back home where we could recycle it. This took my friends kind of by surprise, “You would rather pack this stuff and drive it 4 hours home than just throw it away?”
Yes. Yes I would. And not because I am holy, or amazing or anything like that. Not in the least. But it did give me a chance to tell this story, to share why it was so important to me. The story which I will share with you now…
I really like recycling. A friend of mine has this shirt and I think its funny/awesome.
More than recycling, I am fully on board with the green movement. Not because it’s trendy or because I have always had this deep burden for nature, or because I think Prius' are cool, but because I think it resonates with who God created us to be as stewards. I also read this book, which, if you haven’t, is a must read. It’s practical and has a great perspective. My wife and I are pretty dedicated to trying to do whatever it takes to be better stewards, whether its not using our clothes dryer or to merely be more intentional about recycling everything that can possibly be recycled.
I have also always been a big fan of the tag line: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. However, I usually get stuck on “Reduce.” If there is one of these I wish I could master it would be reduce. I lack a lot of simplicity in my life. I long for it, but sometimes it just seems so hard.
Anyway, back to the story.
So Allison and I are at this hotel, and there are hippies everywhere. It was like a nursery rhyme.
I was really excited to walk around this conference/convention/concert/festival/thing when I found out the title was “Art & Activism.” Maybe because I believe in the arts as a means of inspiring others to get off their butt, or maybe its because it can bring people together and break down barriers. Or maybe because I like to people watch and the chance for some free swag. But as it turns out, I was in for a big surprise.
Allison and I did not pay to get in. Fortunately, festivals for hippies are run by hippies, and so we just walked in. This was a big deal to my wife, as she is not much of a rule breaker. Once inside, it was… well, um…
Depressing.
Every 10 yards or so there were giant really nicely made posters talking about everyday things you can do to be “green.” In between those signs were heaps of trash. Finally we can across some trashcans. Sadly, they were overflowing with everything: bottles, cans, fragments of watermelon, food, etc.
Nowhere in sight was a recycling bin. We looked. Everywhere. We even asked someone. We watched people just throw stuff on the ground. We watched as people cared a lot less about trash and recycling as they were about getting into the tent with rave music and laser lights (in their defense, it was a cool tent).
The only conclusion we could come to was that it was really depressing. We just walked around wide-eyed and mumbling to each other, “this is so sad.”
I know that may sound really judgmental, and I have apologized to Jesus for that. But there is something so sad about missing the point. And I don’t think it was intentional.
I have been to a lot of festivals. Trash is everywhere. Whether it’s a Christian festival or a unChristian festival – trash is inevitable. But the amount of trash was overwhelming. It would be really hard to advocate for people to recycle at a festival. But at a festival about recycling? It just made us sad.
It’s like there was tangible longing in the air to be counter-cultural, to be part of something bigger than themselves. Instead of standing out and being a festival that offered recycling and trash alternatives, all while explaining the virtues of doing so, the easiest way to be different was to dance in a fountain and make out with strangers.
I think the reason that this was so sad to Allison and I was because there are times when we are the same way. We take the easy way. I mean, come on, it’s easier, thus the name. Just because we call ourselves activists, doesn't really mean we are taking action.
Donald Miller said it best the other day when he said this, “I am starting to think “raising awareness” is a fashionable way to “not do work” when it comes to justice issues.”
Making other people care is pretty easy. It’s easy to throw out statistics and pictures and tell stories about issues and pull on emotional heartstrings. The real work comes in making an actual difference. Telling people emotional stories doesn’t create change if it ends there.
I think the reason this made us so sad is because we were seeing a lot of ourselves and a lot of the Church in the people at the festival. The Church is great at raising awareness, but we struggle in bringing about real change. A lot of times its easier to throw money at a cause then to actually go feed someone that is hungry.
Allison and I walked away with a renewed commitment to be more intentional about these areas. Are we going to be proponents for social justice or are we going to actually go out and do something? Do we get it right every day? Not even close. But we are trying, even if it means driving 4 hours with a trunk full of trash.
May we all struggle to bring about real change. May we walk humbly knowing how inconsistent we are and strive to do better next time. May we make a difference in a world that desperately needs it, and may we endure the cost of figuring out what it means to be good stewards of the world God gave us.
