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Folks, it's time to pray, October 18, 2006
Folks, it's time to pray
Dalls-Ft. Worth Star-Telegram
by J. Matthew Sleeth
October 18, 2006Dr. J. Matthew Sleeth is a former emergency medicine physician and chief of medical staff. He is the author of Serve God, Save the Planet: A Christian Call to Action."
On Thursday, Texans will gather in front of the Governor's Mansion and throughout the state to pray about the issue of 17 new coal-burning power plants. This is not the first state to be struggling with foul air, but it may be the first to go to the Lord in prayer about it.
Why not decide this issue on the basis of statistics? Statistics have nothing to do with what makes us human.
In the final analysis, the question of whether to build the coal plants is not a logical one. It is a spiritual one. How many more mountains full of coal should we level in order to run our multiple televisions and refrigerators?
Thursday's statewide prayer vigil will include some prayer veterans; others might be praying for the first time in years -- or ever. Individuals who care about God's earth no longer fit into convenient compartments -- Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal. What they share is a common concern for their neighbors.
Power plants come with an unavoidable side effect: pollution. It does not respect demographic boundaries. Diseases caused by breathing smog befall rich and poor, white and black, believers and nonbelievers. When the Rev. Billy Graham says, "The possibility of destroying ourselves and the world with our own neglect and excess is tragic and very real," he speaks a warning to all mankind.
As a physician and an evangelical Christian, I would like to offer some thoughts for those who will be praying about the coal plants. God listens to our prayers. God wants us to approach him with a humble and thankful heart.
We need to give thanks for everything that sustains us. Many of us say grace before we begin a meal, but how many of us give thanks at the gas pumps that we rely on to fuel our way of life? If we have not said a prayer of thanksgiving at the gas pump, is it because we feel entitled?
Both my head and my heart tell me that we should not build the dozens and dozens of coal plants that are being "fast-tracked" into production nationwide. The drive behind this unprecedented push is not to meet current demand, nor is it to meet the needs of the next decade. This rush to build coal-fired plants is motivated by the desire to "grandfather in" these plants before stricter emissions requirements go into effect.
As a physician, I have witnessed the rate of breast cancer soar from one in 19 to one in nine. I've seen increases in asthma and diseases exacerbated by the sea of chemicals in which we live. We cannot afford the human toll of looking only for cures -- we must prevent the causes of these maladies.
Which brings me to my last thought on prayer: The transforming power of prayer happens not when we try to change God but when we ask the Lord to change us.
The surest way to stop the building of power plants is to cut back on electricity usage. The politics of pollution are involved every time we leave a light switch or television on when we exit a room.
According to the U.S. government, if every household in the country changed its five most-used light bulbs to energy-efficient ones, 21 power plants could be shut down tomorrow. This would have the same effect as taking 8 million cars off the road, reducing the amount of greenhouse gases dumped into the air by 1 trillion pounds annually, and would save 4,000 lives.
Jesus left us with the commandment that we love one another. Two thousand years ago, his followers gave their lives in the most gruesome ways to demonstrate their love for others. If I cannot change light bulbs or even pray for others, am I worthy of his mercy?
Christians and non-Christians alike should attend the upcoming prayer vigils on coal-fired plants. But don't just pray that others will change -- pray that your own heart will be moved. Then you will not only be talking but acting on your love.