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We have a long way to go. Our utility bills are still too high, as are our gasoline costs. We must find a way to cut both. We eat out too much. Probably our house is too big, and we should downsize someday, though I pity the poor fool who tries to drag Jeanie away from the home in which we have now raised our children.

In the end, the lifestyle that Grandma and Grandpa Gushee pursued is at least beginning to come into view over the horizon. They lived through scarcity and the Depression and learned valuable lessons from it. They were good stewards because they had to be. The challenge for 21st-century Americans is that many of us don't. We must become good stewards simply because we choose to be.

As we do, we might discover that economic and environmental stewardship go together, hand in glove. Perhaps this rediscovery will motivate us to preserve the health of our planet.

Copyright © 2007 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Other articles on the environment are available in our special section.

Gushee's recent columns include:

The Joy of Policy Manuals | There's more to workplace justice than good intentions. (April 26, 2007)

Jesus and the Sinner's Prayer | What Jesus says doesn't match what we usually say. (March 6, 2007)

Dethroned | Jesus puts the all-important self in its place. (January 8, 2007)

Children of a Lesser Hope | What happens when we lose confidence in the church. (November 1, 2006)

How to Create Cynics | Everybody knows when we're covering up our confusion with God-talk. (September 1, 2006)

What's Right About Patriotism | The nation is not our highest love, but it still deserves our affection. (July 1, 2006)

Gushee's webpage has a biography and information on his books and articles.

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July 2007, Vol. 51, No. 7