Serve God, Save the Planet, Sweeten Your Life

Serve God, Save the PlanetI first heard of Matthew Sleeth, Christian, physician, and environmental activist when he spoke at Rob Bell’s church. It wasn’t his passion for earth-care that made me want to read his book. It was when he said that he had reduced his electric bill to $20. I figured that unless he was living in his car, he might have something valuable to teach me.

He did. But it wasn’t earth-care OR energy savings – not primarily. It was the sweetness of a simpler life.

Sleeth begins Serve God, Save the Planet with a litany of problems you may have heard elsewhere: The dramatic increase in cancer among young people; our addiction to oil; skyrocketing rates of depression in the midst of plenty. But he doesn’t linger on the gloom, because he believes that doing so leaves us feeling powerless, which is a strangely comforting way of avoiding responsibility for action. The tone of this book is upbeat and positive – joyful, in fact.

Sleeth spends some time educating us on the interconnectedness of things. He shows us the pollution created to bring us cheap food. He describes how what we throw away today, we drink tomorrow. He talks about how our over-consumption of nearly everything results in scarcity for millions of other people. But the larger focus of this book is on living a life that is simpler and sweeter. Sleeth has learned the joy of funneling all of life through a question: “Does this action, saying, movie, purchase, etc. bring me closer to God?” He says that “simplifying means having less, wanting less, being satisfied with what you have or less than you have”. Sleeth inspires you to reassess not just your recycling habits but your entertainment, hobbies, use of technology, your family time and the size of your house.

Serve God, Save the Planet is both practical and inspirational. It’s practical because the applications are at the family level rather than the global. It’s inspirational because Sleeth finds so much joy in this journey that it’s contagious.

February 25, 2008 · Filed Under Books

Comments

One Response to “Serve God, Save the Planet, Sweeten Your Life”

  1. Nancy Sleeth on February 25th, 2008 3:21 pm

    Dennis–
    Your post made our day. Thanks for sharing the creation care message, and embarking on the journey with us.

    We try to ask ourselves two questions regarding any purchase or decision: Will this bring me closer to God? And will it help me love my neighbor (how we act out our love for God)? The answer usually steers us in the right direction!

    Lately we’ve been focusing on Sabbath practices and traditions as a time for renewal, and a timeout from our busyness. It’s amazing how a regular Sabbath rest can help make every day a holy day. No wonder the fourth commandment starts with “remember”–it’s as if God knew that we would willingly become slaves of a new Pharoah, the modern yoke of our 24/7 lives.

    Whereas Serve God, Save the Planet was 80 percent inspiration and motivation, and 20 percent practical and implementation, we are now working on a new book with the inverse ratio, filled with simple ways we can actively love creation. And our daughter, Emma, has a book coming out March 7 with Zondervan, aimed at teens. It’s called It’s Easy Being Green.

    Thanks for your great post, Dennis. We are grateful!

    Grace and peace, in Christ,
    Nancy Sleeth

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