The Answers Are Out There

There is no perfect answer.

I live in Arizona. Where I am, the average year will have 300 days of sunshine. One would think that this makes it the perfect place for solar power. Indeed, it is. We could power the country if we placed enough solar panels in this state. So, let's do it, right?

Not so fast. Remember, there is no perfect answer. According to studies, there are other factors to consider. Are you aware, for instance, of the amount of energy it takes to make solar cells? If you include the manufacture and frame and all, the estimates are that it would take a minimum of two years at best for the solar panel to replace the energy it took to make it. Then there is resource depletion. Depending on the method of manufacture, large numbers of solar cells could have a large impact on natural resources like silver or indium. Waste management of decommissioned solar panels is a problem because of their components. And the emissions from some of the module types are potentially hazardous to the environment. Then there is the health and safety risks. Certain processes can be explosive or toxic and need special handling and large scale storage of some of the chemicals required is potentially hazardous.

Solar power is clean and has no negative impact on the environment. Creating solar power, on the other hand, isn't quite so clean. Cost, energy usage, resource depletion, and potential pollution are all a part of the manufacturing process. There is no perfect answer.

Go down the list. It holds true in almost every single part of life. Gun control, anti-bacterials, auto safety features, Patriot missiles, every answer we come up with to a problem in life is imperfect. The problem is that we keep expecting perfection. Doctors should be perfect. If something goes wrong, sue them. Cars should be perfect. If something goes wrong, sue the manufacturer. If you're not happy with something, get rid of it.

We spend so much time trying to find satisfaction here. We seem not to notice that this world is, according to Scripture and simple observation, an imperfect place. According to Paul, "the creation was subjected to futility" (Rom. 8:20). We live in a world of sin-sick humans on a decaying planet that cannot provide absolute satisfaction. We are humans created for fellowship with God and every moment on this world is, at best, an imperfect experience of that fellowship. There is no perfect answer.

We should do all we can to make this existence the best we can. We should try to make things safer. We should try to do less harm to the environment and more good to people. We should try to help the poor and feed the hungry and all of that. We are called to do that. Nay, we are commanded to do all of that. But let's not be confused. There is no perfect answer this side of heaven. Don't expect Man with his deceitful heart and imperfect vision and understanding to produce anything perfect with the decaying world in which he lives. You will surely be disappointed.