BY NATHAN BROWN
dapting the challenge to Christlikeness of the What Would Jesus Do? (WWJD) motif to a more specific aspect of today's world, the Evangelical Environmental Network has launched a campaign asking "What would Jesus drive?"1 The argument behind the sloganeering: Should Christians be concerned about how our transportation choices affect the world around us?
Naturally enough, owners of larger cars--given voice through the SUV Owners of America--are offended by the suggestion that their decision to drive suburban tanks might be somehow immoral and in July launched an ad campaign ridiculing this new application of the WWJD ethos.2
But our motoring choices are significant in the context of our Christianity--and for reasons with which there can be little argument: loving our neighbors, stewardship of our personal resources, and care for the environment.
Jesus was adamant about our responsibility to care for those around us and doing for others "what you would like them to do for you."3 As such, we should be concerned with safety. While in multiple vehicle accidents SUV occupants are potentially safer, such accidents are more likely because of greater weight and stopping distances. And SUVs are two to three times more likely to cause death or injury if involved in a crash.
Not only are our large, shiny vehicles a danger to ourselves and others, they also consume large portions of our financial means. A motor vehicle is a terrible investment. If ever there was a practical demonstration of James's assertion of wealth "rotting"--or rusting--away,4 it could well be that of new motor vehicle ownership.
A car can easily become a "money pit," and we are reminded regularly "that new cars lose between 10 and 20 percent when you drive them off the lot."5 Financial planning wisdom--we might term it stewardship--suggests we should drive the cheapest car our ego can afford.6 Such a suggestion raises some awkward questions about our sense of self-worth, our faith, and our priorities as we look across the gleaming cars in the parking lots of many of our churches.
And of course, there is the environmental factor. God created us to be caretakers of the planet,7 and it is significant that a specific focus of God's final judgment is against "all who have caused destruction on the earth."8 Pollution, global warming, and the like are real and dangerous features of today's world. For most of us, the largest single contribution we make to the environmental degradation of our planet is our transport choices.
As Christians, we should be using our consumer power and political voice to work against the blind disregard of environmental responsibility in much of the Western world. For example, despite significant technological advance, "in the 12 years to 1999, average gas mileage of cars on the roads fell from 26 miles per gallon to 24.7 miles per gallon."9
Perhaps for the sake of our communities and our planet we should be campaigning for a fuel price rise reflecting the real cost of our automotive habits upon our environment. "In the true-cost marketplace of the future . . . you will simply have to pay the real cost of piloting your ton of metal, spewing a ton of carbon out of the tailpipe every year."10 It is estimated that a gallon of gas at "true-cost" should sell for about US$18.
So what would Jesus drive? Perhaps there's not a simple answer to that question, but the good people at www.whatwouldjesusdrive.org do make a number of practical suggestions as to how we can make better choices in meeting our transportation needs.
However, there may be an even better suggestion: Jesus would "be on the bus because that's where the humanity is. Not much happens in a car in the way of human interaction. . . . A bus ride might be crowded, loud, and maddening, but it is vital and alive."11
Catch the bus.
_________________________
1 www.whatwouldjesusdrive.org
2 www.thehollandsentinel.net/stories/071403/bus_071403068.shtml
3 Matt.7:12, NLT. See also Luke 10:30-37 and Mark 12:28-31.
4 James 5:2, NLT. For a more positive example of Jesus' teaching on material things, Matthew 6:19-34.
5 Boyett, Feinberg, Hatcher, and Meier: Cheap Ways to . . . (Relevant Books, 2003), p. 125.
6 This, from a reputable financial planning source, although one I just can't put my hands on at the moment.
7 Genesis 1:28; 2:15.
8 Revelation 11:18, NLT.
9 U.S. figures from Michael Moore, Stupid White Men (HarperCollins, 2001), p. 125.
10 Kalle Lasn, Culture Jam, (Quill), p. 180.
11 Fran Gardner, The Oregonian, Jan 18, 2003.
_________________________
Nathan Brown is a freelance writer and graduate student who lives in Townsville, Australia.
