Why I like this shirt: my little environmentalist riff

Don’t you love the time when you get to change out of the church clothes into your plain old threads? We love the beauty of our Father’s house, but if you’re like me, you’re still pretty happy when you come back home, kick off the fancy shoes and put on the duds you can just lounge around in.

These days, I’ve got a favorite t-shirt that I always reach for. It’s black, and the design is over at right. It’s a Threadless shirt, which means that this design was only available for a limited time. (Here‘s the link though, if anyone cares enough to try to get them to re-order a batch.) I love the lines of it — the mix of architectural rendering and fantasy. But it’s not just that. I realized when I saw it that this was an environmentalist image that I could finally relate to.

Because for one thing, it’s not labeled as an environmentalist thing. One of the lovable characteristic of the Threadless offerings is that they don’t blare out meta-messages on their t-shirts, as if every one of us had to go around with ideological slogans or snarky put-downs on their chest. I don’t know what the designer intended, and I don’t have to. I know what I mean when I wear it.

And what I mean is, I DO support our responsibility of stewardship of the planet. I DO love the sight of towering trees and want this generation and the next to be able to always see their beautiful branches stretching up in thanks to God. But I also support the wonderful capacity of humans to design and to build. I don’t think that we have to view every building as being some kind of insult to a tree. I can’t cozy up to the environmentalist movement as it exists right now, because it seems to be filled with loathing for anything manmade, and so hostile to businesses and development. I think that we can have cities that are in harmony with creation, and I don’t just mean oppressive “master-planned” communities with precisely apportioned green belts the size of hankies. I mean lovely great churches, pillared court buildings, busy storefronts, friendly old brick buildings, inviting parks, courtyards with fountains.

I know we can do this because I see it all the time. I think we all do, but we almost feel guilty at this point for being awestruck with wonder by a skyscraper or a fabulous house. There’s no doubt that God’s creation is the original and constant source of beauty. But I think creation is SO beautiful that the imitations we fabricate based on centuries of experience are also magnificent to behold.

How do we arrive at a compromise that gives credit to our ingenuity while still acknowledging the need to take care of what God has entrusted us with?

Haven’t a clue. Hey, I’m just the girl wearing the shirt. But I’m hoping it’s a little beginning, that maybe that big tree I’m wearing will drop a little acorn in a fertile mind somewhere.

If not, well, I just had a shirt I liked. And the little white blossoms glow in the dark. Cooool.

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September 7th, 2008 | Grace | 11483 Comments2008-09-07+23%3A52%3A56Grace |