175 Sermon Illustrations on Stewardship

Many stories are told of Paul Gerhardt whose hymns are still sung in Germany. John Wesley translated some of them into English.

Gerhardt's family was very poor. He was the shepherd boy who cared for the small flock of sheep and goats on the edge of the forest. One day a hunter came out from among the trees and asked the lad how far it was to the nearest village.

"Six miles, sire," he replied, "but the road is only a sheep track and can easily be missed."

"I have lost my way, and I am very tired," returned the hunter. "Leave your sheep and show me the way. I will pay you well."

"No, sire," said Gerhardt. "I cannot do that for they would stray into the forest and be stolen or eaten by the wolves."

"Never mind; your master would never miss one or two, and I would pay you more than the price of one or two sheep.

"But sire, my master trusts me with these sheep, and I have promised not to leave them."

"Well," said the hunter, "let me take care of the sheep while you fetch me food from the village and a guide."

"The sheep do not know your voice and would not obey you, sir."

"Can you not trust me? Do I not look like an honest man?" asked the hunter with a frown.

"Sir," said the boy slowly, "You tried to make me false to my trust, and break my word to my master. How do I know that you will keep your word to me?"

The hunter could not help laughing.

"I see you are an honest lad, and I will not forget you," said the hunter. "Which is the path? I must find my way for myself."

But Gerhardt would not let the man depart hungry, so he gave him the humble contents of his scrip. Just at that moment several men came hurrying through the forest uttering shouts of delight as they caught sight of the two of them. Gerhardt had been talking to the Grand Duke, and these were his attendants who had been much alarmed at his disappearance.

This was the beginning of Gerhardt's future career of honor and success. Pleased with the lad's honesty, the Duke had him well educated and thus gave him a good state in life.

Yes, God wants us to be honest in His sight, and to our fellowman. You will find throughout your life that it pays to be honest.

An interesting fable is told of a rich man who wanted to help a poor man. The rich man hired the poor man to build a house on the hillside and went away on a long journey. The carpenter said to himself, "My boss is away and I can use cheap materials for the parts of the house which will not show. The house will be weak and undesirable but nobody will know except me."

But when the rich man returned he said, "The house is not for me: it is for you!"

The carpenter accepted the key in astonishment. Instead of a first class home he now had a fourth-class home.

God gives us a job, a life to build. We have to live in the house we build. If we do a shoddy job, we cheat one person-ourself.

There is no greater interference with a Christian's ability to serve God than the need to earn, in order to pay and buy.

In America today, we live an average of 18 years longer than we did 100 years ago and have at least one-third more disposable income per family. An observer from 100 years ago would be amazed by the improvement in living standards and the amount of leisure time technology now provides us.

According to Barna Research, about 40 percent of Americans are born-again Christians. So it seems clear that Christians ought to be spreading the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world much better than they are presently doing.

The simple truth is that most American Christians are too busy to be involved in fulfilling Jesus' Great Commission, as recorded in Mark 16:15. Many have grown complacent and comfortable with God's blessings and have forgotten Jesus' mandate.

Because God asks for obedience rather than demanding it, many Christians have simply ignored the very reason for God's blessings: to glorify Him and to honor His commandments.

THE REASON FOR THE BLESSINGS

God calls every Christian to spread His Gospel to all parts of the world. But, like Esther (see Esther 4:14), every believer must decide either to be used of God or to be bypassed and allow another to be chosen instead. Most Christians would never refuse to do God's will; it's just that the timing is not right. So they allow the urgent things of their lives to overshadow the important things of God.

We sing, “America, America, God shed His grace on thee.” Well, He has! God has blessed us so richly. There is enough money in North America to fund all the Christian work in the world if the people of God would just give. The desire to give may be there, but most American Christians are so caught up in making money, buying bigger and better things, and paying for the things that they already have, that they have lost their focus on the unsaved world.

In a real sense, the Gospel has become shackled because money needed for worldwide ministry is tied up in personal debt and large monthly payments.

GOD'S KINGDOM

The very best investment a person can make is an investment in the Kingdom of God. The Lord admonishes us not to worry about material possessions, and instead, “Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

While American Christians today have a greater abundance available to them than any previous generation, there has never been a generation of Christians so caught up in worrying about their possessions as ours.

However, it's not the material things that cause the difficulties; it is materialism, which is a matter of heart attitude. Materialism simply means that a person is more dedicated to accumulating material things than in serving God. The evidence of the lives of most American Christians reveals that this generation is dedicated to materialism. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21).

The admonition to “seek first the Kingdom of God” is given by the Lord as a contrast to worrying about material possessions. God's people need to understand His principles of finance so that they can be free of debt and the worry that accompanies debt in order to help fund the spread of the Gospel worldwide.

Once Christians become financially free of personal debt, they will have a greater abundance for which to fund the Gospel's outreach to the “remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

OWNERSHIP OR STEWARDSHIP?

Giving so that God's servants can take His message throughout the world is an outward material expression of a deeper spiritual commitment, and an indication of a willing and obedient heart.

That's why making such a commitment is almost impossible unless Christians take the first step in becoming financially free by transferring ownership of all material possessions to God. This means money, time, family, material possessions, education -- even earning potential for the future. We must be willing to transfer ownership of every material thing in our possession to Him if we truly want to be financially free.

Once we recognize that God owns everything and all blessings come from Him, our role as managers, or stewards, becomes evident. If we view ourselves as owners and not managers, we'll look at every other aspect of our lives the same way. Each of us will see himself or herself as the person in charge, but that can change quickly in the face of circumstances beyond our control.

However, if God is the owner and we are simply His stewards, we need only to be concerned with how best to manage His possessions. In so doing, money is no longer our possession, it's God's possession, which we hold in trust. And because we will have to give an account of how well we managed His material goods and possessions, we must, to the best of our ability, use the money as we feel He would use it and in a manner that pleases Him.

As stewards of God's possessions that have been entrusted to us, believers must ask whether God would be pleased with our stewardship or with the way that we have spent His money.

Would God be pleased with His steward indulging in material excess, while His servants who are taking His Gospel to the far corners of the earth are in need? Would God be pleased with His steward using His money to satisfy personal selfish desires at the expense of the unsaved? Would He be pleased that His stewards all too often choose to fulfill their own directive rather than to fulfill His Great Commission? If you need help with these questions, the answer is “No!” to all three.

WHOSE KINGDOM?

You can make no greater investment than an investment in the Kingdom of God. But so many Christians are so far in debt that they cannot even begin to honor God's mandate, although they might truly want to.

Nevertheless, debt is a mountain that can be overcome -- one step at a time. Step number one is to give all possessions to God. Step two is to manage His possessions in a way that pleases Him, in accordance with His principles of finance. Once debt has been brought under control, you can join in liberally funding the Gospel throughout the world.

God has shed His grace on us in America, so don't allow the urgent things of this society in which we live to overshadow the important things. Whose Kingdom are you seeking?

God came up with the idea of multiplication.

If you give Him your time, He multiplies it. If you give Him your money, He multiplies it. If you give Him your talent, He multiplies it. If you give Him your energy, guess what? He multiplies it.

It's the same principle as planting seeds. “God gives seed to the farmer...,” the Bible says. “God will also give you seed and multiply it. In your lives he will increase the things you do that have his approval” (2 Corinthians 9:10, GW). Think about that: God will increase the things you do that have His approval.

Farmers know that seed must be given away for it to increase. If you keep seed in a sack, it doesn’t do any good. But when you plant it, it multiplies. When you plant one corn seed, do you just get one corn seed back? No, you get a stalk with hundreds of corn kernels. When you plant one watermelon seed, do you only get one seed back? No, you get a bunch of watermelons with hundreds of seeds in them. God multiplies whatever little bit you give Him.

Remember that the person who plants few seeds will have a small crop. But the one who plants many seeds will have a large crop. God loves the person who gives cheerfully. That’s because God gives cheerfully and He wants us to be like Him.

The story of Saddleback Church cannot be told without telling of the thousands of people who sacrificed financially to make this church possible. Our 120-acre campus with all its buildings didn’t just happen. Somebody sacrificed for them. People chose to give their money instead of buying things for themselves to make it happen.

In 24 years we have had three major, sacrificial giving campaigns. The first one was from 1987-90. We called it “Possess Our Land.” The goal of that campaign was to raise the money to buy the land.

Over a three-year period, people gave $3 million above and beyond their regular tithes and offerings to buy the land. That's an average of $6,700 per family.

Then from 1995-97 we had the second campaign, called “Time To Build.” The purpose of that three-year sacrificial campaign was to build our building.

Over that second three-year period, people gave $12 million toward this campaign. Again, this was over and above their regular offerings and tithes. That averaged out to be $14,000 for each core family.

From 1997-2004 we had a third sacrificial giving campaign called “Building For Life.” That campaign funded major projects, such as building a ministry center, putting up a youth tent, putting in a parking lot and buying 40 acres next to our property for extra space and another entrance. Over $20 million was given by our people above and beyond their normal tithes and offerings.

There would literally be no Saddleback Church without the sacrifice of time, service and money that our people made. Whatever people gave during these campaigns, God multiplied.

One of the great lessons that Kay and I have learned over our years of ministry is that you cannot out-give God. Whatever you give Him, He takes and multiplies. This was a lesson we learned on a personal level. Three different times in our marriage God told us to give away our entire savings. Each time we obeyed, God replenished it in greater ways than ever before.

I’ll never forget during the “Time To Build” campaign when Kay and I prayed about what our sacrificial amount should be. God told us to give an amount equal to one year's salary. I said, “How are we going to do that, God? How will we live an entire year without a salary?”

But God said to do it, so we did it. About a month later, a publisher called up and said, “We'd like you to write a book.” That book became “The Purpose-Driven Church.” They said, “We know it's going to be a best-seller so we're going to give you an advance of $100,000.”

In December 1987, we had to close the deal on the land for Saddleback. Our people had given over $1 million, but we were still short on that last day. I thought, “God, we're so close and our people have sacrificed beyond measure. This is the last day before we lose the property. You're not going to let us get this close and let us fall. What are You going to do?”

Before that day was out we received a letter from a man who had visited Saddleback only one time. He didn't even live in Orange County. His note said, “I believe in the vision of Saddleback Church.” And in that letter was a check for a quarter-million dollars. We were able to close the deal and get the land.

God's timing is perfect. That was the last business day of 1987. The first business day of 1988 that man –- who was a banker -– went to the bank and his trustees called a special meeting. They didn't know he'd just given us a quarter million dollars. They called him in and sad, “We've had a record year with banner profits. We're going to give you a one-time bonus.” And 10 days after he'd given this church a quarter million dollars, they gave him a one-time bonus of $750,000.

He called me on the phone. “Rick, you cannot out-give God! I keep trying, but it doesn't work.”

When I told this story to the Saddleback congregation, I said, “Don't you wish you'd given a quarter million dollars?”

The Bible promises, “You won’t regret it. No one who has sacrificed his home, spouse, brothers, sisters, parents, children -– whatever -– will lose out. It'll all come back, multiplied many times over in your lifetime and then the bonus of eternal life” (Luke 18:29-30, Message).

That's a promise of Jesus Christ directly from His lips. “So always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58, NIV).

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate in KeruxID 25837-26027]

A recent study by evangelical pollster George Barna may explain what’s going on. Barna found a 62 percent reduction in the number of tithers among all adults last year, dropping from eight percent in 2001 to just three percent last year. Although evangelicals (including Southern Baptists) are more faithful to give a tenth of their income, only nine percent of them fit the biblical pattern of stewardship by tithing.

Barna pointed to demographic shifts affecting giving: “We are losing many of the people who have a habit of tithing — people in their sixties and beyond - while the proportion of homes headed by younger adults, who have never tithed and don’t plan to, is growing.”

Each one resembled the children of a king. Judges 8:18.

Why art thou, being the king’s son, lean from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? 2 Samuel 13:4.

Might not our heavenly Father justly complain, when He has freely given us so much, that so little should be appropriated and used? May we seek more to live in abiding union and fellowship with Christ, learn more the riches treasured up in Christ, draw more daily from Christ, enjoy more of Christ, grow more like Christ, work more for Christ, bring more glory to Christ. Then the days as they pass will be as the days of heaven upon earth.

Child of God, by Christ’s salvation,

rise o’er sin and fear and care,

Joy to find in every station,

something still to do or bear.

Think what Spirit dwells within thee,

think what Father’s smiles are thine,

Think that Jesus died to win thee-

child of God, wilt thou repine? — H. F. Lyte.

Dr. Adam Clarke once preached on the words, "Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely" (Revelation 22:17). At the conclusion of the discourse he announced a collection. "How can you, Doctor," asked a lady afterwards, "connect the freeness of the water of life with the collection at the close?" "Oh, madam," answered the wise preacher. "God gives the water without money and without price; but you must pay for the waterworks, for the pipes, and the pitchers which convey the water to your neighborhood." Remember, you pay nothing to God; you are charged nothing for the water; but you cannot have convenient chapels to sit in without paying for them, nor a regular ministry to urge the water on your acceptance, without making a suitable provision for its support.

A venerable clergyman, once entered a meeting in behalf of foreign missions, just as the collectors of the offering were taking their seats. The chairman of the meeting requested him to lead in prayer. The old gentleman stood, hesitatingly, as if he had not heard the request. It was repeated in a louder voice; but there was no response. It was, however, that Mr. Sewall was fumbling in his pockets, and presently he produced a piece of money, which he deposited in the contribution box. The chairman, thinking he had not been understood, said loudly, "I didn't ask you to give, Father Sewall; I asked you to pray." "Oh, yes," he replied, "I heard you, but I can't pray till I have given something."

Dr. Lorimer once asked a man why he did not join the church. The reply was that the dying thief did not join the church, and he was saved. "Well," said the minister, "if you do not belong to a church, you help to support missions, of course?" "No," said the man. "The dying thief did not help missions, and wasn't he saved?" "Yes," said Dr. Lorimer, "I suppose he was, but you must remember that he was a dying thief, whereas you are a living one."

A miser in Chicago was so suspicious of everybody that he would not trust his money in the bank, but buried it in his cellar. One night some thieves broke into the cellar and dug up every inch of sand and dirt until they found his box of gold and carried it away. The poor old fellow was nearly crazy over his loss. But the old man has many people following his example in the care of priceless treasures. How many there are who are laying away all their treasures in the sand and dirt of this earthly cellar, when heaven's strong vaults are offered to us for their safekeeping. Jesus says: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6:19-21).

The idea of the “home front” rose to prominence during the first and second world wars. As society became more industrialized, the winning of wars -- which historically had depended upon battle strategy, skill, and resolve -- became increasingly dependent upon which country could churn out the most munitions and machines. The battles were fought on the front lines, but civilians understood that the war could not be won unless those on the home front contributed their efforts.

The home front conjures up pictures of Rosie the Riveter, women rolling up their sleeves to work in factories, and children planting victory gardens. Those whose husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers fought on the front lines assisted them by conserving and funneling all available energy and materials into the war effort. They did not sit at home and wait for the war to be won by those who could see the enemy. I believe that we, as Christians, need to take a similar sort of attitude toward the war that we face.

Let me make myself clear. When I say that we are in a war, I am not referring to a political or military conflict. I am not referring to a clash of cultures, or even a war FOR our culture. I am referring to the type of spiritual war referred to in Ephesians 6:12: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” This is a war fought in our own hearts.

We have been and will continue to be in the midst of a great spiritual struggle. If we desire to win the war, we must take the long view of things. Whether or not we actually admit it, it can be tempting to leave the fighting to those we perceive as manning the frontlines: pastors, evangelists, missionaries, and others engaged in (what we refer to as) full-time ministry. These are the ones advancing the kingdom of God, you may think. I don’t have the gifts that they have, you may tell yourself.

This is not a biblical attitude. The New Testament describes believers as members of a body, each with different functions. Though some parts may get more credit, each depends upon the others to fulfill its function. Or to return to our metaphor, those fighting on the home front are as vital to the advance of the kingdom of God as those on the front lines.

When our country was at war, many people discovered they had aptitudes they would never have otherwise uncovered. We each have different spiritual gifts, and different roles to play in the advance of the kingdom. But there are a few general things that each of us can do to support the work on the front lines.

Most obviously, we can support the advance of the kingdom through our financial resources. I’m not talking about disdaining the good gifts God has given us to pursue an ascetic lifestyle. I’m talking about giving up good things for something better, willingly making sacrifices so that those on the front lines can have whatever they need to fight the battle well. John Piper describes this attitude as a “wartime lifestyle”:

“There is a war going on. All talk of a Christian’s right to

live luxuriantly ‘as a child of the King’ in this atmosphere

sounds hollow -- especially since the King himself is stripped

for battle. It is more helpful to think of a ‘wartime’ lifestyle

than a merely ‘simple’ lifestyle. Simplicity can be very inward

directed, and may benefit no one else. A wartime lifestyle

implies that there is a great and worthy cause for which to spend

and be spent” (2 Corinthians 12:15).(1)

Secondly, we can train up children who are well-equipped for battle. If the Lord tarries, this war will continue to be fought by our children and our children’s children. Even those of us who do not have our own children can assist those who do to raise them in the fear of the Lord. The home front is where soldiers are nurtured and prepared for battle. And when they are ready, we must not hold on to them, but let them go out to fight the battle for which they’ve been prepared.

Finally, and most importantly, WE must worship God in spirit and in truth. Our own hearts are the home ground that must not be surrendered. Those in the spiritual realm who seek to harm us would like nothing better than to see us spend our outward efforts for God’s kingdom, while inwardly we have given our hearts to some other love. We, as the bride of Christ, wait and work on the home front for the return of our bridegroom. When he comes, may he find us faithful.

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1. John Piper, DESIRING GOD, (Portland: Multnomah, 1986), 165.

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Copyright © 2006 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

Recently CBS Sunday Morning news devoted a segment to the question of whether the Bible teaches tithing. The reporter featured a new book by Russell Kelly entitled “Should the Church Teach Tithing?” As a whole, the program had a decidedly negative overtone when it came to the biblical practice of stewardship we call “tithing.”

Most of the arguments were gathered around a few predictable stack-poles. 1) Church leaders have used verses taken out of context. 2) Pastors have abused the teaching of the tithe to manipulate people to give. 3) The practice of a weekly collection is of relatively recent origin. 4) Tithing is a part of a legal system while believers are under grace. 5) Certain televangelists have used the tithe to fund their own extravagant lifestyle.

What are we to say about such objections?

The program was brief and thus only sound bites of much larger arguments were broadcast, but it is worth our time to look at these general objections. Let’s look at a primary New Testament text where Jesus mentions tithing -- Matthew 23:23. The context is a denunciation of the scribes (experts in the Law) and the Pharisees (legalists).

Jesus brings seven specific charges, each beginning with the phrase “Woe to you ...” Following the introduction there is a brief cameo illustrating their failure to live up to the claim to be guardians of the Law. The fourth woe involves tithing as taught in the Old Testament Law. As might be expected, the first century legalists had been meticulous in observing the law. They had tithed their garden herbs. Jesus charged that they had neglected the weightier matters of justice, mercy, and faith -- echoing the summary of true religion given by Micah (6:8). Jesus insists -- “These things should have been done without neglecting the others.” This passage is not that difficult to understand in its present context. The mastery of elementary matters such as tithing is no excuse to ignore weightier issues. Nonetheless, it is obvious that Jesus believed and taught that tithing was a fundamental aspect of faith.

We must confess that some pastors on occasions have used biblical texts related to tithing in a manipulative manner to raise the budget or to build a building. Such behavior should not be tolerated, but it does not alter the basic biblical teaching. We should clearly teach that the stewardship of one’s entire life is an act of worship and celebration. Tithing should not be connected to subscribing a budget, nor should it be presented as a means of receiving financial favor from God.

The historical argument cited in the broadcast was based on the need of the church to receive weekly offerings when the church was no longer funded by the state. I would insist that the church should never have been funded by the government in the first place and that a better historical marker would be the early church, not relatively recent history. Recent history contains numerous examples of misunderstanding and misapplication of biblical teaching, but that fact does not alter basic biblical teaching. The church should always examine its teaching based on biblical truth, not historical tradition.

The issue of tithing being a matter of the law in a community defined by grace misses the mark on several points.

First, the tithe preceded the giving of the Law. The first mention of tithing is found in Genesis 14:20 where Abram gives Melchizedek a tenth of all he had. Abram has defeated Chedorlaomer and thus is entitled to the spoils taken in battle. The contrast in the story is telling. The defeated king of Sodom wants to make a deal with Abram, allowing him to keep the goods and returning the people to him. Melchizedek, on the other hand, meets Abram on his return and provides for his needs, bringing him bread and wine. Abram’s spontaneous gift of the tithe is based on his renewed understanding that “God Most High” is the possessor of the heaven and earth. This is a biblical truth that goes back to the beginning chapters of Genesis. The spontaneous act of tithing was later codified in the Law.

Second, grace does not negate the Law but rather fills it full of meaning. If one looks at Jesus’ treatment of various Old Testament Laws in the Sermon on the Mount, we will find that He always exceeds the Law by internalizing and intensifying it. For example, one might outwardly obey the Law about murder but yet express intense anger toward his brother. Now in the Kingdom instituted by grace, this person stands guilty (Matt. 5:21-22). By the way, Jesus actually mentions the practice of giving in this same context. He indicates that when you come to present an offering and you remember that your brother has something against you, you should go and be reconciled to your brother. But that is not the end of one’s duty under grace. He must “then come and present your offering” (5:24). It would be a disgrace to grace to indicate that the person who has received grace would do less than one under the Law.

How do we answer the objection that “some televangelists” have manipulated their hearers and used the tithe to fund an extravagant lifestyle? We must always stand against any and every abuse of spiritual authority. But the fact that some abuse their office does not provide an excuse for us to ignore the teaching of Scripture.

We could point to “charlatans” in any and every profession. We might, for example, discover that a medical doctor has used his profession to fund an extravagant lifestyle. First, that doesn’t mean that most doctors are doing the same. Second, it doesn’t mean that we should ignore principles taught by legitimate physicians. But having said that, church leaders should be rigorous about good stewardship of all the funds over which they have responsibility. For example, Paul gives a detailed description of those who will be delivering the offering intended for the saints in Jerusalem (2 Corinthians 8:16-24). Church leaders must practice holistic stewardship with absolute integrity. After all, everything belongs to the King, is intended to advance His kingdom and to bring glory to Him alone. We are privileged to participate in His kingdom activity here on earth and we will be privileged to serve him for all eternity.

But “tithing” is not the entire story. The Bible teaches that the stewardship of all of one’s life -- time, talents and treasurers. We serve a King who has equipped us for kingdom service and has thus enabled us to live daily in such a manner that we can lay up treasures in heaven. Paul actually gives clear teaching about how one can advance to hilarious grace-empowered giving (2 Corinthians 8-9). We should not be content to argue about the amount of the tithe; we should develop a kingdom lifestyle that will enable us to give ourselves completely as “living sacrifice” to the King. To do so means that we will have to deal with issues such as our spending habits and unbiblical debt. God is concerned about how we manage all of the resources that He has placed at our disposal. Don’t become a modern-day Pharisee and believe that the tithe exempts you from “weightier matters.”

The core message of the modern environmental movement seems to be utter contempt for the human species. Think I’m exaggerating? Then stay tuned to BreakPoint.

The London Times once asked its readers, “What’s wrong with the world today?” G. K. Chesterton, never one to pass up a chance like that, reportedly wrote back a simple response: “Dear Sir, I am.”

Modern environmentalists seem to share Chesterton’s answer, though their reasoning could hardly be more at odds with his. Humanity, they insist, is what’s wrong with the world. We’re destroying it, pushing species after species into oblivion and permanently altering earth’s climate. But besides voluntary self-extinction, these environmentalists don’t offer any solutions.

Instead, they spend their time and money fantasizing about human annihilation. I’m thinking of movies like “The Day After Tomorrow,” “The Happening,” or disturbing commercials like the infamous ad[1] showing children exploding into bloody pulp because, you see, they wouldn’t reduce their carbon footprints.

And last month, a new series of public service messages took up that mantle. Produced by Conservation International, the ads feature A-list celebrities voicing an assortment of living things and habitats who all have one message for us: Nature doesn’t need humans, and it can kill us if it likes.

Cast in the role of the ocean, Harrison Ford growls, “I’m most of this planet ... every living thing here needs me. I’m the source. I’m what they crawled out of ... I don’t owe [humans] a thing. I give. They take. But I can always take back ... I covered this entire planet once and I can do it again.”

The series of ads[2], which aired on CNN, also includes Robert Redford as a frustrated redwood tree, Penelope Cruz as a passive-aggressive stream, and Kevin Spacey as a sarcastic rain forest.

But the capstone of it all is Julia Roberts’ icy performance as Mother Nature.

“I’ve been here for over four and a half billion years,” declares Roberts — ”22,500 times longer than you — I don’t really need people ... I have fed species greater than you, and I have starved species greater than you ... My oceans, my soil, my flowing streams, my forests, they all can take you or leave you ... I’m prepared to evolve. Are you?”

Roberts’ ominous tone led one journalist[3] to observe that she sounds more like the White Witch of Narnia than Mother Nature.

But what’s most striking about Conservation International’s message isn’t its thinly-veiled misanthropy, but just how little it offers in the way of solutions. Humankind does more harm than good, we’re told, and boy, have we got it coming. And that’s about it.

Well, if humans truly are the problem, maybe having fewer of us would do a lot of good. Actually, that’s the very conclusion Eduardo Porter came to last summer in the New York Times where he suggested population control as a solution to climate change.

Secular environmentalists have reached a dead end — literally. Humans are the problem, so saving the planet will mean lots of people winding up, well, dead in the end.

But this is where Christianity offers a surprising response. With Chesterton, all Christians agree that we are the problem. But that’s not the whole story. We’re also the solution, because the Christian worldview offers something secular ecology cannot: a concept of stewardship.

You see, if we are merely “the other great ape” as naturalists assume, then we have no moral obligation to care for our planet. But if, as Genesis teaches, we are fashioned as God’s vice-regents, placed on earth to love one another and to cultivate creation, then we have a duty to Someone much higher up the totem pole than Mother Nature. What we need are Christian environmentalists — believers with a theology of ecology. Only then can we counter this movement’s death wish with life-giving solutions.

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Copyright (c) 2015 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. "BreakPoint" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.