FIRST GLIMPSE: The Green Issue?     Eric Thomsen is the managing editor of ONE Magazine. Send comments and observations about ONE to editor@nafwb.org.

As I scan the rack, I can’t help but notice the bold title screaming at me from the covers of several popular magazines—The Green Issue. This new catch phrase of the ever expanding, save-the-planet, stop-global-warming movement sweeping the publishing world appears annually on a wide range of covers, from Vanity Fair to Laparoscopy Today.

Most green issues are published in April, corresponding with Earth Day, an eco-awareness “holiday,” started by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970. According to www.earthday.org, the event is observed in 175 countries, making it the largest secular holiday in the world, celebrated by more than a half billion people.

This magazine is not a green issue.

Please, don’t misunderstand. I have the utmost respect for the planet. I believe every Christian should do his or her part to maintain the beautiful home God carefully fashioned for all living creatures.

At the Thomsen house, we recycle carefully, making a bi-weekly trip from our rural home to the nearest recycling center to deposit plastic, cardboard, newspaper, and used motor oil. We drive gas-efficient cars, pack our groceries in reusable bags, and turn out the lights when we leave the room (usually).

For the Christian, conservation is a foregone conclusion. God settled the issue before He breathed life into man and established him as the caretaker of creation. He didn’t stop there. He also charged us with the care of our bodies (1 Corinthians 6), our homes (Deuteronomy 6), our time (Ephesians 5), our money (Malachi 3), and our neighbors (Matthew 19). He hasn’t rescinded those commands.

Our world, our lives, and our possessions are not our own; they are on loan from God, and His Word makes it clear. He will require from us an exact accounting. We are simply managers of the life He has shared with us. Perhaps the ancient word steward—used to describe a slave given charge of his master’s household—most accurately describes this responsibility.

Maybe this issue should be called The Red, Yellow, Black, and White Issue. After all, stewardship is more about people than the planet.

You will enjoy articles that put this important theme under the microscope, tackling subjects such as how to save money (Acorn to Oak, page 9), paying for college without pawning your power tools (Be a Good Steward, page 20), and suggestions for giving away the $93 million tucked into the top drawer of your nightstand (The Carnegie Chronicles, page 6).

Enjoy the magazine, and don’t throw it away when you’re done! Recycle it…even if it’s not The Green Issue.