It is finished

“When the last living thing

Has died on account of us,

How poetical it would be

If Earth could say,

In a voice floating up

Perhaps

From the floor

Of the Grand Canyon,

"It is done."

People did not like it here.”

 Kurt Vonnegut

______________________________________________

Our capacity for destruction

Is

Astounding

It is as if we humans are the hit and run drivers of the universe

In our determination to amass wealth

And dominate

We will do most anything

No matter what the impact is on other people

No matter what devastation it creates for animals

Not matter how destructive it is to this planet we call home

You might simply think it is a matter of being shortsighted

People are so fixated on what WE want that we don’t think of others

They are so obsessed with accumulation and winning

That they don’t think about the big picture

About the fact that fracking is cracking the earth

And dirtying the water

About the fact that this fouled water

Is lost to human use

And humans need water to thrive

They don’t think about the fact that

Because they refuse to accept lower profits

The weather is turning chaotic

Destroying lives and businesses alike

I keep thinking of those people I know who are addicted

They will do anything for their drug of choice

They will destroy their bodies

Abandon their relationships

They will lose everything

Everything

Home

Health

Family

Esteem

Hope

All for that one thing

For far too many

For far too many people in positions of authority

For far too many people who have the ability to dominate and coerce, and control

The drug of choice is money

With a chaser of power

This in spite of the teachings of people like the Buddha,

And Jesus

This in spite of the many warnings

“Love of money is the root of evil”

And this addiction

Is killing us

And the more addicted our leaders are

Our political leaders

And our religious leaders

The more the lead us into the desert

The more they lead us into the dark consequences of this addiction

And make no mistake

Unless we let go of this addiction

And start to care about the earth

And care about the people

All people

The earth will die

On account of us

We will have squandered the original blessing

We will have violated our role as stewards

Sure I know the language about a “new heaven”

And a “new earth”

Sacred is all about newness

But there are far too many passages that hold us accountable

And suggest that God may well us people

To drag this newsness into being

To suggest we just let the earth crumble because God is going to “fix it”

Makes about as much since as allowing children to die from gun violence

Because we think they will

“go to heaven” when they are blown apart by bullets

Personally I do not like to see creation suffer

Or people suffer

Personally I think it is my job

To work with God to usher in

God’s new thing

And so I believe it is time

Time to quit putting money and power

Over the planet

And over the people

It is time to deny the essential selfishness that grabs us

That selfishness our leaders encourage,

And say with the Psalmist (24)

“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,

the world, and all who live in it;”

and live accordingly