CW: water shortage, climate crisis

Recently, three faculty colleagues

and I accompanied a group of our Latinx concentration students on a “cultural plunge” experience at the US Southern Border.

A memorable stop was the Laredo Water Museum. We learned about how much freshwater is available on the planet, how it’s being used, and why it’s disappearing.

The climate crisis is one of the most complex problems of our time. Addressing it will require the brains of those in positions of corporate and political power to bring our fullest creativity and discernment to bear on the solution.

The hard reality though is that business leaders and decision-makers are under extreme stress. Under stress, the brainstem tends to hijack the upper networks of the brain, shutting down creativity and systemic thinking.

How might our theology increase or decrease our stress?

“Don’t worry about what you’ll eat or drink; ask and it will be given to you.”

— Matt 6

Jesus frequently navigated bodily threats and high-stakes scenarios. And yet, we may hear in these words of Jesus an invitation to embodied trust.

“The measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you.”

— Mark 4

Trust is a neurobiological phenomenon that helps us regulate our stress. When we are experiencing trust, then we will be better able to regulate our nervous system and retain access to the upper neural pathways in our brain. Those upper pathways are what we need to utilize to think flexibly, systemically, and creatively about how to reverse the climate crisis.

“Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, and yet God feeds them.”

— Luke 12

If our theology is effective at helping spark trust and regulate our stress, we can expect theology to help us make decisions—individually and collectively—which protect the environment.

If our theology increases bodily trust, we can expect to find our stress leveling out at “just right” levels. Under these conditions, we are able to retain access to the upper pathways of our brain—as Jesus may have—and better discern together how to protect and care well for our planet.

Imagine a CEO of a corporation with the power to protect natural habitat, or sacrifice it for the sake of profit. We can assume that business leader is already under extreme stress. What happens then when that person goes to pray, if their image of God feels “unsafe” and causes their nervous system to feel further threatened and on high alert? With “too high” stress, the body feels discomfort and tension, approaching agony. Under this condition, the brain is motivated by a single goal: decrease stress to a tolerable amount.

“Theology can increase or decrease our stress, depending on the story it tells us.”

Now imagine a CEO under extreme stress, but with an image of God that feels “trustworthy,” and regulating to the nervous system. If our theology hands us an image of God that is effective in helping regulate our stress, then when someone goes to pray or contemplate God, we can expect stress will be dialed down to optimal levels. Under those conditions, a business leader will have greater access to upper-brain networks—those which will enable them to envision a wider range of potential win-win outcomes, pathways for achieving profits for shareholders as well as the planet.

∞

Imagine the early human beings (Gen 1-3) enjoying an abundant garden of plants, fruit, olives, nuts, and seeds in the garden. We might imagine their theology was simple: “God is trustworthy, and we’ll have what we need.” Under just-right stress, we can expect that they would have consumed only what they needed. As the story goes, then suddenly one day they experienced a crisis of trust: “What if God isn’t trustworthy?”

Listening with you,