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Disney Asks Children To Pledge To Protect The Planet
By Mary Rediger Faith Telegraph Guest Columnist Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Disney's hottest young stars are aligning to save the planet in a way that's sure to make a global impact. From Demi to Miley, young people are joining Disney's "Friends for Change: Project Green" and empowering kids to make changes and decisions, because they care and they want to make a difference.
The campaign will apparently ask children to make a "pledge" to "take action" to protect the planet:
This youth-inspired and youth-driven campaign encourages kids to come together and make smart choices within their daily lives. Kids simply register and pledge online to take action to protect our planet...
Am I the only one that finds it disturbing that Disney is registering and organizing children in the cause of environmentalism, asking them to make a sort of "pledge of allegiance" to the planet?
Don't get me wrong. We are blessed to have a beautiful environment. The earth was created by God for humans to dwell in. It is an unmatched dwelling, complete with plants and animals given to us by God. He uses His creation to reveal Himself to us and has given us the responsibility of caring for it.
Indeed, God's handiwork points us to His character:
“For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20).
God also commanded us to be good stewards of the earth in Genesis when He established a system of authority on the earth and placed man over the environment:
“Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." (Genesis 1:26)
Thus, those that love God should care about the environment, for it was created by God. We are called to be good stewards of what God has entrusted to us.
However, I cringe when I hear people talk about “saving” the planet. According to the Bible, it is not in our human power to save the Earth. Perhaps we humans can prolong life and impact the quality of our environment, but we cannot save what is not meant to last. Let us not forget that in the end this earth will be destroyed.
We are given a glimpse of the future of our planet in both Second Peter and Revelation:
“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.” (2 Peter 3:10-13)
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.” (Revelation 21:1)
If the planet cannot be saved, why is there so much talk about saving it? The current movement to "go green" has some benefits, but there is a difference between good stewardship and trying to save what God has set to be replaced. One is Biblical; the other is not.
The non-Biblical version places "saving" the environment above helping humans. We must remember that our secular media does not present information from a correct Biblical worldview. To many, we are the problem -- there are too many of us, and we are using up too many resources and causing the climate to change with every breath of carbon dioxide we exhale.
To understand the problem with placing the environment above humans and things of eternal significance, we must remind ourselves what God values most: people. People are made in God's image and their souls will exist long after this brief life on earth.
Time and again in the Bible, God illustrates His love for humans over nature. For example, God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, but then provided a ram instead (Genesis 22). In that and every Old Testament sin offering, human life is shown to have more value than animal life.
The world was given to us to rule, not the reverse. The Lord demonstrated His control over the weather and elements with the great flood of Noah's time in Genesis 7; causing the shadow of the sun to go backward ten steps in 2 Kings 20; and calming the storm by rebuking it in Matthew 8 and Luke 8.
Moreover, Jesus' life and ministry were focused on saving the people of this earth. Our lives should have that same focus and drive.
Is it possible to incorporate “green” methods into our lives without losing this focus? Of course. There is nothing wrong with “reduce, reuse, recycle.”
But let us never put the environment before people. Our time and resources should be used in such a way as to save people, both physically and spiritually.
The Bible is very clear about where our treasures should be stored:
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).
Things of this world, including the earth, are temporal. I believe this verse is discussing more than physical treasure like gold and jewels. God is giving us the right perspective on life, reminding us that the earth is not meant to last forever but that heaven is.
We each have but one life on this earth. Let's put our treasure where it counts, where “moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
Mary Rediger is a published author who lives with her husband and son in the great state of Texas. She can be reached via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
______________________________________________________________________________ The International Faith Telegraph
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If you find this disturbing, then check out what they're teaching kids in school. At gradeschool level, they're injected constantly with both global-warming and evolution campaigns. In college, it's not only an injection but if you don't put effort into helping the "effort", then you will find yourself without a degree. Just another idea for an article.
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August 20, 2009
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Great article! It's important to remember what is REALY important, and where we should keep our focus!
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August 20, 2009
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I enjoyed your article for the most part. I think you read a little too much into the campaign of "saving the world." I believe when people say save the planet they are thinking more along the lines of prolonging and being a good steward of the planet, not some sort of destruction-prevention to delay God's will. This might be a little off-based or "extreme" but what if I said I wanted to "save" an animal from abuse that would lead to it's death, is that not something within our human power? I do agree though that a lot of times focus can be too much on the environment and lower the value of human life which is much greater.
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September 17, 2009
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Disney sent out an e-mail yesterday to its "insider" subscribers with the headline, "Disney Stars Join Together With Kids To Save The Environment." The e-mail announces that:
