“I’m NOT a church-person. I AM a tree-hugger.” This is how I prefaced my rebuttal to another attendee’s comments at a recent resident lunch at our hospital where Dr. Sleeth was the guest speaker. It was at this lunch that I acquired a copy of Dr. J. Matthew Sleeth’s book Serve God Save the Planet.

Given the fact that I am not a Christian and am generally put off by religious arguments as to why I should (or should not) behave in a certain way I found myself drawn into this little book with it’s concrete examples of personal change and growing awareness of the implications of our daily choices – in matters as mundane as choice of toilet paper. Although, to be fair, perhaps I was biased by the reference to one of my own personal bibles (The Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn) on page 86.

Regardless of how one comes the decision – whether it be through a faith-based idea of stewardship (as presented by Dr. Sleeth) or via other value systems that include an abhorrence of “wastefulness” – I think that we, as citizens of the most prosperous (and wasteful) country in the world need to stop and consider how our, individual and joint, actions impact the fellow denizens of our planet today and the inheritors of our depleted earth, future generations.

When one of the other attendees at the lecture asked Dr. Sleeth “What kind of car to you drive?” I flinched…NOT because I wasn’t curious. But because then I couldn’t ask my own pet question – for fear of turning the event into an “I’m-greener-than-you” bragging contest. Thankfully MY question was answered for me on page 18 and I could settle down and listen to what Dr. Sleeth had to contribute to the on-going conversation of what it means to be a responsible steward toward this bountiful, but bruised, globe we call home.

I can’t really evaluate the “religious” arguments for stewardship presented in this work – perhaps someone who shares Dr. Sleeth’s beliefs will find them compelling (if you require a “reason” to do the right thing, then please feel free to use his – I have my own). I did find the “What YOU can do” aspect to be very enjoyable, practical, and possible. While I don’t agree with ALL of the choices Dr. Sleeth presents/has made (in particular some issues surrounding health care), overall I would recommend this book to “church-persons” AND/OR “tree-huggers” – or to anyone who is interested in the concept of (religious or secular) stewardship.

DISCLAIMER
I did not pay Dr. Sleeth directly for the book I acquired at his lecture (which WAS given as a viable option) as my own personal value system involves an “every $1 is a vote” ethos and I don’t vote before evaluating the “value” I am receiving for my $$. Upon reading this book and appreciating its value I did make a contribution in Dr. Sleeth’s name (in excess of the value of the book) to a charitable organization that I felt we both could endorse ( )