MondayMorningInsight - Leadership & Encouragement for Church Leaders

Pointing Out the Sin of Bottled Water

Posted by: Todd
Posted on: Mon, December 11, 2006
Viewed 65
(10) comments so far

It all started with a seventeen year old member’s prompting at August’s general council meeting for the denomination. High school student Jordan Newell says, “They’re taking this clean water and they’re selling it back to us. They’re making us scared of tap water, something that is perfectly fine. It’s pretty much immoral.’’

So if you would buy a bottle of water from your local convenience store, that would make you what? Immoral as well.

And who’s at fault? The bottling industry. “There is this insidious, creeping sense promoted by people who have a vested interest that it’s better if you buy your water,’’ according to Richard Chambers, a United Church of Canada executive minister.

Not to anyone’s surprise, the Canadian Bottled Water Association disagrees with the church’s new “Water in Action” campaign. Their spokesman, Elizabeth Griswold responded, “People drink bottled water for the safety, good taste and portability. That is a key point missed by the United Church.”

I think there are a lot of key points missed by the United Church. That bottled water is safe, tastes good, and portable are just a few reasons.

After all, if we consider with all the things that God gave mankind, shouldn’t we take issue with a lot of other things that are sold for profit? Beef and pork for one. And fish. God gave us fish to eat (and you can catch them for free at just about any lake, yet money hungry fisherman catch free fish and try to ‘hook’ us into buying them). (Wonder where this whole professional fisherman thing started!?) And what about vegetables? You can grow your own (using the dirt God also freely gave us, along with the free rain and sunshine) at no cost. Or you can choose the easy way out. Just go to your grocer and buy some fresh green beans. Or buy them in a can. Or a box of frozen ones.

It’s all in the delivery system; and how we choose to get our hands on what God has provided us.

But here’s the biggest area the United Church of Canada is missing the point: God’s most sacred gift to us was, in fact, not water; but his Son, Jesus. And I see no mention of Him in this water campaign. While the Church tries to tie its whole water campaign to the Bible, this is how they do it in a promotion for their “water as a metaphor” in worship series of books:

“Imagine your congregation as including your cat, the whales swimming along the coastline, the soil in the farmer’s field. This book explores water as a metaphor; water as a vehicle of divine grace; water as a representative of the wider covenantal community and water as a companion on the journey of faith.”
How is it possible to stray so far from the main purpose of Scripture? Sorry, my cat is NOT a part of my church. Neither is Shamu.
My fear for the United Church of Canada can be found in Jeremiah 17:13: “Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the LORD, the spring of living water.” I’m afraid in this whole campaign against bottled water, the church has somehow missed the real symbolism of water in scripture: to point to Jesus, the source of TRUE living water.
Unfortunately, this is a sever example of what happens when the church preaches what it is against (bottled water) rather than what it’s for (Jesus). It’s a problem that many US churches are also facing these days.
And it’s just one more reason why so many people want absolutely nothing to do with the church.
All this talk is making me really, really thirsty… now where’d I put my Aquafina?

(You can read more about this from Bloomberg.com at http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aLk.RBftMMKg or at the United Church of Canada’s website: http://www.united-church.ca/waterfocus/)

The United Church of Canada, that collectively represents about 10% of all Canadians, is on a mission... A mission to tell you (or at least your Canadian brothers and sisters) of a new necessary evil: bottled water. Here’s the premise: Water is “God’s Sacred Gift” to man and should not be exploited for profit. To do so would be… well, immoral.

Comments

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mark o wilson on Mon, December 11, 2006

I guess, if that’s the case, I’m planning to sin on my ucoming trip to Nicaragua.
nora on Mon, December 11, 2006

How ludicrous. Taken to its logical conclusion, drinking bottled water is only a sin where safe tap water is freely available, thus making this a “regional sin”. Therefore, North American consumers of bottled water are sinful, but some parts of Central America, Africa, and other parts of the world where safe water is not as easily obtainable would not be sinning by drinking some Evian. Someone should have told Jordan Newall to sit down and shut up until he actually had something profitable to share instead of this legalistic nonsense.
Leonard on Mon, December 11, 2006

Reading this makes me thirsty. Oh, thats better, thank you Auquafina. Kind of silly if you ask me.
fishon on Mon, December 11, 2006

Young Jordan needs to drink some of the water out of the tap here in North, Central, Oregon.

I think I’ll have another bottle.

fishon
Craig A. Mouldey on Tue, December 12, 2006

This isn’t really hard to figure out. A “church” that has long ago abandonned the bigger issues in favour of adopting the worlds views has to pick up a socialist issue like “bottled water”. Don’t drink bottled water…but it’s great if you are a homosexual! As a church, they left Christianity long ago. Sad but true. I think the scripture says to “avoid them”.
Caroline on Wed, December 13, 2006

The United Church’s explanation certainly has its holes, but I’m willing to support the idea on two fronts:

1) Financial Stewardship: God calls us to be worshipful and responsible stewards of the financial blessings He has bestowed upon us. Why pay for something that is easily and readily available - as close as your nearest faucet? Bottled water, per unit, is more expensive than gasoline, so I have a hard time justifying its puchase in sterilized bottles when I know there are millions of people worldwide with no access to potable water and who could use those monies to build a well. Is god more glorified by Fiji water, or by economic aid to those living in poverty in Fiji?

2) Environmental Stewardship: God created to earth to provide us with food and materials and beauty. It is sinful to live in disregard of God’s creation. The plastic bottles that carry purchased water are a blight on the environment, needlessly choking the landscape. What’s more, your local bottler might not be so local. Think about it, the bottles are trucked to the bottler, the bottled water trucked to the grocery, and then you drive them to your home. With each leg of the journey more carbon emissions are contributing to climate change. I’m not saying that drinking an Evian is sin that needs confessing. I am saying that overall, trying to find excuses for drinking bottled water seems to be one more example of how we are trying to FIT God into our culture, instead of trying to create a Godly culture.
Katie Berkelmans on Wed, December 13, 2006

I think Jordan has made a great point, I’d love to learn more about the subject….which i do everyday since he sits beside me in class!!

People who are against this issue…....well…should keep their comments to themselves!

your doing a great job, no worries!
Leonard on Wed, December 13, 2006

Hey guess what, people are dying without Christ, what water are you drinking? It feels like we are in ADD Christianity. Jesus is the Savior of the world, how many angels dance on the head of a pin?
OliviaB. on Mon, April 13, 2009

I think there needs to be a distinction between what’s strictly religious and political. In this case, it’s a gray area, but gray enough that one cannot definitely say that drinking bottled water is a sin. The offense is on the water company, but it isn’t directly our fault if we buy it. It’s like Proctor and Gamble’s support of pro-life. You’re not necessarily for pro-life if you buy their products: Tide, Charmin, Iams, etc (I remember this issue in the 80s, so I’m not certain if they still hold their stance on abortion). And what about Wal-mart and their unethical business practices towards merchants and employees? Would going to Wal-Mart be a sin?

When it comes to dealing with God-fearing people who give it their 120% to do the right thing, I’d suggest approaching with caution, prudence, and charity. My thoughts.

—————-

OliviaB.

San Francisco DUI lawyer
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