At Ruah Space, we love spiritual disciplines. We believe they are vital to growing not only in our relationship with God but in our relationships with ourselves, others, and creation. In and of themselves, we believe they offer innumerable benefits and help create the space for us to connect deeper with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We also believe, however, that such a connection to God and who God made us to be will move us to care for others and care for all of the creation. We don’t just pray with our minds, words, and silence, but with our actions in the world.

One of the original commands God gives to humans is to oversee the creation. We are invited to co-create with God. We are invited to responsibly engage what God has made so that every person, animal, and the entire creation can glorify God and thrive as God intended.

With that in mind, we wanted to offer a few practical steps everyone can take to better care for this beautiful world. After all, the creation reveals who God is, as Paul says in Romans, and declares God’s glory day and night, as Psalm 19 so poetically exclaims. Some of these invitations are very simple and can be executed in just a few minutes around our homes and in the places we work or worship. Others will take time and disciplined dedication as we change spending habits, consumption habits, and potentially give up some stuff we have grown used to.

Our invitation to you would be to consider the ideas below and see what steps you can take over the next few days, weeks, and even months!

1) Research if Your Purchases are Produced Ethically and Environmentally Friendly

There are many helpful websites, articles, and apps that provide insight into the supply chain practices of the companies we purchase our products from. While certain issues may be nearly impossible to avoid, it’s helpful to know which companies are working toward more sustainable, just, and “green” practices. Sometimes it’s clearly better to buy from one company over another while sometimes it’s helpful to purchase from companies moving in the right direction.

A helpful app we like to use is called Buycott. (You can check it out here) In this app, you can decide certain “campaigns” that are important to you such as Bee Preservation, Sustainable Fishing, Water, Climate Legislation, deforestation, and more. The app will then give you information concerning whether certain companies are engaged in a practice you don’t want to support. It’s a great way to quickly check if a product you are purchasing is produced in an ethical and environmentally friendly way. As a bonus, you can include other justice “campaigns” such as human trafficking and child labor. It’s not a 100% guarantee but it’s a helpful tool.

2) Check if Your Purchases are Supported by Third-Party Environmentally-Friendly Organizations

You can check the labels on a product you are considering purchasing to see if a third-party organization supports it as being environmental friendly. Waste Advantage Magazine has a helpful list of such labels including “Energy Star (for energy efficiency), USDA Organic Seal (for organic products), Forest Stewardship Council (for products made from trees in responsibly managed forests), and Green Seal (for general sustainability).”(1)

3) Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (Bags, Bulbs, and Packaging)

Most of us probably remember a class or seminar in school where we were told to “reduce, reuse, recycle.” It’s such a commonplace statement today that it can lose some of it’s impact, but this simple method can truly make a difference.

For starters, consider ways you can reduce the amount of resources that you use. Switch out older lightbulbs in your house for LEDs, purchase foods with less packaging (or packaging that can be recycled), walk or ride a bike instead of driving when possible, turn off lights and water when not in use, etc. Furthermore, bring reusable bags to the store instead of stocking up on plastic bags that get thrown away. While many stores will “recycle” these bags, one employee at a large store chain told us they just throw them away after collecting them.

In addition to the above “reducing” ideas, simply look at the ways you can cut back on buying things in general. There is a reason there is a huge movement to simplify these days. From books and courses to Marie Kondo, everyone seems to recognize that we have way too much stuff. Consider donating what you don’t need to a good organization that can use it or try to repurpose it. Then, don’t buy things you don’t actually need in the future. We live in a world telling us that the key to happiness is just around the corner in the next thing we will purchase. The truth is, happiness and fulfillment can never be found in the stuff we buy.

In the end, there are endless ways we can care for God’s creation by simply being more mindful of consuming less.

On top of reducing and reusing, recycling is another simple step you can take. Most towns take recycling just like trash. Just be sure to ask what types of items they will and won’t take. All you need is a second can or bin in your house to throw recycling into instead of the trash.

4) Compost

When we first considered starting to compost, it seemed like a huge project. Thankfully, it’s not!

Step 1-Purchase a composting can for in your house. This reduces smell and makes it easy to keep food scraps in one place before taking them outside. We use one like this (link) in our house and it works great (without smell).

Step 2- Make the actual compost pile. It takes a little research to get right but is a great step to take and doesn’t take up a lot of space. A helpful place to start would here this article. The article talks about needing a container outside-we just have a pile 🙂

5) Eat Less Meat and/or Research Where your Meat Comes From

Don’t run away just yet! For many of us, the idea of eating less meat, not even mentioning giving up meat altogether, might seem pretty far out there. But the truth is, it takes up a lot of space to produce meat, isn’t always friendly to the animals that are raised for food, and isn’t very good for the environment.

For starters, consider buying your meat locally from farmers who raise their animals in an ethical manner and whose meat is “organic.” Many animals are bred and raised in terrible conditions. In and of itself this is a reason to consider where our food comes from and try to purchase from farmers that produce their meat in sustainable and ethical ways. On top of that, however, meat production is taking a toll on the environment in terms of deforestation and production of greenhouse gas.

When it comes to what we eat, each person needs to decide for themselves where they stand. Perhaps this means eating meat once a day instead of with multiple meals, or even considering eating it a few times a week instead of every day. We haven’t given up eating meat in our home, but we are working toward eating less of it.

6) Read!

This is in no way an exhaustive list of the ways we can care for God’s creation. There are numerous books and resources that can help you in this journey and provide great insights and ideas. A book we would recommend that got us kicked off many years ago is Serve God, Save the Planet by Dr. Matthew Sleeth. Another book on our list that we haven’t read yet is The OMD Plan: Swap One Meal a Day to Save Your Health and Save the Planet by Suzy Amis Cameron.

7) Mindfulness & Awareness

In the end, our invitation is to consider the impact your life has on the world. Ask yourself if your purchase or action is going to bless or cause harm. Will it bring greater life and joy in the world or cause damage to someone or something? With a little mindfulness, awareness, and discipline, we can help ensure that God’s good and beautiful creation continues to sing God’s praises and provide for us in the amazing ways God intends it to.

(1) https://wasteadvantagemag.com/5-ways-to-tell-if-a-product-is-really-eco-friendly/