Why Should Christians Care About the Environment?

This week's blog marks the fourth of our series on sustainability as students. It's a short, but beautiful quote from Emma Vaughan on how her faith is the driving force of her environmental concerns.

"As a Christian, I believe that we have a mission to protect and love the world that God has made. We are called to live radically different lives to the culture around us and to show people the love of God through our actions as well as our words. This translates into our care for the environment.

We do not see the full extent of the harm our lifestyle choices can have. The destruction of the environment is primarily affecting the most impoverished people around the planet, and we cannot choose to be unaware of the effects of our personal choices anymore.

We’re supposed to love our neighbour, so what if loving our neighbour looks like reducing our plastic use to protect the living environments of communities on the other side of the world, or being mindful of the clothes we buy in order to advocate safe and fair working conditions and to limit our contribution to pollution of water and air?"

- Emma Vaughan