Ethical Glass?

I was having lunch at Heathrow Airport when I noticed the words “ethical glass” engraved on the bottle of water in front of me. I assume this was intended to communicate something about the way the glass had been produced, its environmental impact, or the conditions under which it was manufactured. There is nothing wrong with wanting to make products more ethically. Christians should care about such things. But the phrase struck me as an interesting illustration of how we tend to approach the problems of the world.

We identify what is wrong with the things we make, the systems we participate in, and the ways we consume. Then we look for ways to improve them. We want more ethical products, more responsible businesses, and more sustainable systems. These efforts have their place, but they can also reflect an inadequate understanding of the human predicament. We tend to think that enough improvements to the world around us will eventually make the world right.

The biblical diagnosis goes deeper. The problem is not simply that we have made some bad things or established some unjust systems. It is that humanity has rebelled against its Creator, and that rebellion has affected everything we make and do. We are not detached observers of the world's brokenness, looking for ways to repair it. We are part of the problem. The corruption we see in our institutions and societies reflects something that is also present in our own hearts.

This is why the Gospel begins with a call to repentance. We cannot congratulate ourselves for identifying the world's shortcomings while overlooking our own. Nor can we overcome our fallen condition through better choices, moral credentials, or improved systems. We need something that human ingenuity and good intentions cannot provide: forgiveness, reconciliation with God, and transformed hearts.

This is what Jesus came to accomplish. He did not simply offer another set of instructions for improving the world. He came to deal with sin and death, to reconcile us to God, and to make us new creations. Good works and responsible living matter, but they are the fruit of salvation, not the means by which we achieve it.

Perhaps there is nothing particularly wrong with ethical glass. But there is a world of difference between making a better product and making a broken person new. We don't ultimately need a more ethical version of ourselves. We need redemption.