Stewards of God's Good Creation

A friend of mine, a priest, recently posted a request on Facebook asking for guidance in how to pray for the situation related to the oil spill in the gulf. It was a sincere request and most of her friends posted some serious and good responses about wisdom and stewardship and of course for prayers for those whose lives have been affected by this terrible tragedy. I went a different route, and (mostly) tongue-in-cheek suggested a prayer that might begin, "O Lord, smite those greedy executives who cut corners in order to make a buck..."

Now in all seriousness, I wish no harm on anyone. And I wasn't in the room when decisions were being made about this particular project. I don't know for sure which executives or government officials are to blame; and it's hard to get clarity around that in the midst of all the finger pointing. The special investigators can sort all of that out eventually, but one thing is clear: you can't put toothpaste back in the tube. There may be lots of lessons to learn but that will begin with getting the facts right, and that may take some time.

But by all accounts, this was not an "accident." And it is blasphemy to call it an "act of God." It was caused by human sin and greed and arrogance and negligence. Some of the blame may in fact belong to our government for failing to adequately regulate and to hold BP accountable for the regulations that are in place. In a democracy that means some of the blame belongs to the people who elected people to serve who have no interest in doing anything except protecting the interest of corporations.

In the meantime, the theology may be much easier to sort out. Here is what I do know: prayer is not magic. It is naive and foolish to pray for God to "fix" that which we break. If a child gets a new toy and smashes it to bits on a rock and then asks his parent to make it all better, most good parents recognize that it's a mistake to go out and buy a new one. There are consequences for actions and God's grace and mercy don't negate those consequences. Perhaps the prayers we need to begin with are not intercessory prayers, but prayers of confession for the things we have done, and the things we have left undone. This oil spill was not a "natural" disaster. It's a human problem rooted in the very old-fashioned sin of greed. It is a reminder that one cannot serve both God and mammon.