I’ve been immersed all this week in thinking about the importance of daily devotional Bible reading.  Thom Rainer, president of Lifeway Publishers, does a good job of pointing out the importance of Bible reading to discipleship.  Now comes empirical evidence that the more you read your Bible, the more you will want to hug a tree.

A new study done at Baylor University links the frequency of Bible reading with concern for issues of conservation, justice, poverty, and the supposed conflict between science and religion.

Some highlights.  The more people read their Bibles, the more likely they were to:

Say that active concern for issues of social and economic justice was important to being a good person.

Oppose abortion

Oppose the death penalty

Oppose harsher punishment for criminals

Not believe that there is a conflict between religion and science

Support conservation and consume fewer goods

So if you are a tree hugger, the more you read the Bible, the more trees you are likely to hug.

While this comes as somewhat of a surprise to the world, it really does not surprise the community of faith.  Since God created the world, we have the duty and responsibility to care for it in a God-honoring manner.  God is not honored by pollution and devastation of natural resources, he is honored when we watch over what he has created with care and concern for issues of sustainability and conservation and ensuring that the natural world is around for our kids and grandkids to enjoy.  So if you are not a Christian tree hugger, you ought to be one.