Wednesday, May 11, 2011

a state of nobility and sacredness

the dictionary defines nobility as

1. Possessing hereditary rank in a political system or social class derived from a feudalistic stage of a country's  
   development.
2.  a. Having or showing qualities of high moral character, such as courage, generosity, or honor: 
    b. Proceeding from or indicative of such a character; showing magnanimity:
3. Grand and stately in appearance; majestic


there is this farmer in Tennessee that i think i might have a crush on.  Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms.  oh....don't take it wrong .... i just love the way this guy talks and what he is on about (psst .... hubby has a bit of a man crush too! <g>).  he wants us to be committed to the nobility in which we were all created.  to express the God ordained "humanness" that is intrinsic in how he made us .... because it is good. 


at the end of the day his challenge for us is to find our true nobility and sacredness -- and express that in all that we do.  for a Christian this call will ever draw us back to an appreciation of what our Lord has done for us. 


from an environmental evangelist perspective, it means that we acknowledge that our Divine Creator (or mother nature if you can't wrap your head around the God thing) made our world and made us to be caretakers of it.  He created this world for us and has put us in charge of it ... an amazing creation that is self-propagating, self regulating and provides all the best food and nourishment we, as those created in His image could ever need.  our challenge is not to move away from this sacredness, not to destroy it, but to reflect His glory and beauty in everything ... because it is how He ordained it.


mr salatin, because of his farming background, expresses that in some beautiful and at times quite humorous ways ....


  • allowing a chicken to express it's "chicken-ness" (e.g. scratching and digging) brings out the nobility and beauty in what they are.
  • a pork his "porky-ness" by rutting with his snout to dig up food
  • that an essence of egg is a beautiful thing
  • and in the end ... it means that in expressing our humanness, we are returning to the nobility of how God created us ... to the beauty of what He ordained for us.


it is a call away from the processed factory enhanced stuff that we allow ourselves to ingest.  we have been allowed to think that because something looks good, is bigger or is served faster it is better for us.  we  have embraced the world's lie that it must serve us, and our time compacted lifestyles rather than enjoying the pace and beauty at which it was meant to be.   if you want the full story on what is in our foods, you must watch the movie Food, Inc.  it will open your eyes and challenge your thinking.  the ramifications of embracing the nobility of and sacredness with which we have been made will change your life.  


while salatin is a farmer, and his examples come from his farming background, they apply to all of us.  whether we have a patio, an acre or a hill side.  it's the idea of supporting or growing things we know.  can't grow?  then by local.  use fresh products, not processed stuff that is so crammed with chemicals that the nutrients that God intended them to have have vanished.  ditch the GMO!  think about and reflect on how God created this world and how He intended it to function and mimic that .... in your lives, your relationships and your responsibility to be care takers of this planet.


here is Mr Salatin's practical, approach to this .... watch this short preview of the newly released movie "Fresh". (another must watch movie which is just starting to hit the Australian public now.)




and if you have 15:34 to spare .... his TED talk is a must watch to truly understand where he is coming from and the impact that embracing the nobility and sacredness of Him in who's image we are created.

No comments:

Post a Comment