Kindness shown to the poor is an act of worship

You could ask why a church is spending thousands of pounds installing solar panels on the roof. Of course we’re hoping that the capital investment will pay off over a few years of energy bill savings, but there’s more to it than economics.

We believe that God made all humans responsible as caretaker-managers for his world.    By installing solar panels we are taking responsibility for reducing our own carbon footprint.  The bible says that the rich are responsible for the wellbeing of the poor.   We don’t want to be responsible for damage to the lives and livelihoods of those who are disproportionally badly affected by climate change.   We do want to set an example of good stewardship of God’s creation.

The bible commands those who are rich in this world to be generous.   We believe this responsibility belongs to all of us, not just of politicians or business leaders.  We Westerners control more than an equal share of the world’s resources.  We can afford to generate extra electricity and pass it on.  We can afford to support charities which care and advocate for those worst affected by climate change.

At the heart of Christian faith is an understanding that God is ultimately responsible for the world he created and sustains.  Christians also believe that God is generous -  giving us a bountiful world and then stepping into history to set us back on course when we set out to destroy it.   Why have folks in this church given £20K to put solar panels on the roof?  Because we worship a responsible and generous God and worship leads to action.    Proverbs 14:31 says that kindness shown to the poor is an act of worship.

If you’d like to hear a bit more about Christian climate action, have a look at A Rocha UK – A Rocha run the eco church award scheme of which Chipping Sodbury Baptist Church is a member…. Or listen in to episode 14 of Two Pastors in a Pub: “Is cimate change a liberal hoax?” (also on Spotify / Itunes etc)