Littering

We all have our pet peeves in life. One of mine is when I see someone litter. I don't claim to be the most efficient steward of the environment. I am trying to improve.

But there is one thing I cannot tolerate: litter. If you think about it, it is one of the most self-absorbed acts out there. The mindset to litter is: "I am the most important person in this world. If I decide to throw my trash out of my car or while walking around it is because I have the right to do it. Someone else will pick it up. But if they don't pick it up it doesn't matter because this world is all about me."

Littering must stem from one of three motives: unabashed laziness, self-absorbtion or ignorance. To me the sin nature of humans speaks loud and clear when they litter. Does it bother you also? I long for a world where God's justice is revealed (after His mercy is displayed towards us). A world where things are put right.

Litter is a constant reminder of the Fall and why we will be disappointed if we view this world under the curse of sin as paradise. A better day and place is coming for those who trust the promise that Christ will return to rule this world in peace and justice. But in the meantime, as Christians we should strive to make this world a more beautiful place. One small way that we can do that is to never litter and to gently correct those who do.

I have to admit that I have been guilty of correcting those who litter but not with gentleness. My wife- Amy- gets on me for my temper when I see someone throw trash out the window. A couple of recent stories:

One day I pulled up behind a car of teenagers at a red light and watched the driver chuck out a fast food back on the street. To his credit, he did go to the trouble of putting all of his trash in the bag instead of scattering it piece by piece. I quickly put my car in park, got out of the car, grabbed the bag and knocked on their window. They rolled it down and I said sarcastically, "You accidentally dropped this." The driver was embarrassed and said, "Thank you" and took the trash back into the car. It felt good. But that outcome could have been less than favorable with the wrong person.

Another incident was a young woman throwing out a host of trash in the neighborhood I live. I decided to follow her for a few blocks laying on the horn the whole way. It is not pretty. I lose all sense of maturity when I see things like this. Hopefully, one of these stories isn't the prelude to my funeral.

Jeremiah 2:7 tells us, "I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable."

We should always be asking ourselves tough questions with how much we need to consume. And for God's sake: don't litter!

For the Glory of His Creation,

Ashley Hodge