A peep into Christian Sustainability




Sustainability - Ah, Now what is this all about !!! This word is making headlines in newspapers. Most Organizations these days are speaking in the language of sustainability. They talk of Green Energy, Green Lifestyle, Protection of Water and other Natural Resources etc. etc. You would have observed that If you go to any of the supermarkets like SPAR, Big Bazzar, Total; they charge you for the plastic carry bags because Plastic bags are non –biodegradable and therefore it’s usage is not recommended. There is a strong campaign for carpooling while commuting, more and more scientific ways for managing house hold wastes, methods for conserving water …These are all day in day out examples of sustainability. So sustainability is becoming an integral part of our life. The most common definition of sustainability may be “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” which simply means that we need to think about future generations also.



When I was reading this definition and learning more about sustainability ( recently I got couple of opportunities to conduct trainings programs on sustainability) I came up across this thought – Do we have something like Christian Sustainability or a Sustainable Christian Life ? Relating the above definition to our own spiritual lives, I believe there exists a concept of Christian Sustainability. I would love to define Christian Sustainability as “Spiritual Development that meets the needs of the Present Generation and creating the ability of future generations to meet their own Spiritual Needs.”. Ah, Now I think I have complicated it too much. Let me try to make it simpler . Christian Sustainability is that



a) We (the Present Generation) need to grow Spiritually.

b) We also need to educate , train and create ability in our children ( Future Generation) to grow in spiritually.



Now does this sound little simple. The journey of Christian Sustainability starts at the moment when you are born in your mother’s womb and it only ends with your attainment of salvation. While in this journey, we pass through 3 different stages of Spirituality. This may be



a) Citizens of Church

b) Ambassadors of Christ

c) Leaders of Christian Faith



Like or any country there are Citizens, Ambassadors and Leaders. A Christian life also has these 3 stages. By birth, we become the Citizens of Church. When we grow we learn more about church, we learn about Jesus, we grow in Spirituality and when we are in a position to Proclaim the BRAND JESUS in front of others, we become the Ambassadors of Christ. Now the toughest part of the Journey is the last mile; to become the Leaders. When we are leading other’s to Christ , we become the Leaders of Christian Faith.



It is expected that all Christians need to go through all the 3 stages to attain Christian Sustainability. But many a times, we tend to stop out Journey at the 1st level . Hardly we move into the 2nd level and rarely into the 3rd stage.



Now what can we do ? Good Question. – As drivers of Christian Sustainability we need to



a) Enable - Build our own Spiritual Capabilities - We need to grow in spirituality

b) Engage-Inspire others by leading a Christian Life

c) Embed- Influence the change of other’s Heart



I would love to coin this as 3 ES of Spiritual Sustainability or Spiritual Sustainability 3.E



And Finally, Christian Sustainability is not something we do beyond our Life. It is all about living the life of a True Christian.



Prayer : Lord guide me to lead a sustainable Christian life.








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