Recycled Dominionism
Every April, the many peoples of the world recognize Earth Day.
Some will take pause to reflect upon our place in this temporary home called Earth and our responsibility to take care of it. Others will go about their lives as they do on any other day with little contemplation of their impact on the environment we share.
Many Christians are caught in the middle. We have at least a vague notion we will give an account to God for His original commandment to fill the Earth and subdue it (Genesis 1:28; 9:1-3), but we shy away from active participation because we fear guilt by association with this or that environmental group.
What is our responsibility toward the environment as Christians?
We can get a good idea by looking at our Creator and His thoughts about the world He created.
Jesus is the original recycler. He designed the world’s robust ecosystems with renewability in mind. Living things are decomposed by microorganisms after they die and return to the basic elements from which they came (Genesis 2:7, 3:19). Water changes to vapor and then back to water (Jeremiah 10:13). Oxygen is converted from carbon dioxide by plants on land and in the seas (Genesis 1:11). Energy is released for use from reservoirs of oil and deposits of coal formed at Creation and after the Flood (Genesis 7:17).
Further, we see that Jesus values his creation (Psalm 104:31, 145:16-17), and retains ownership of it (Psalm 24:1, 89:11). So, when Jesus commanded us to multiply, fill the Earth, and utilize its resources, He did not give man carte blanche to abuse it. Instead, He set mankind over the Earth as a steward to use and manage it with creativity and purpose:
Land cultivation for crops
Animal husbandry
Trees for fuel and construction
Water for consumption and power generation
Minerals for conversion into useful products and energy sources
Waste management for pollution control
Stewards are put in charge by the owner to take care of that owner’s possessions. Stewards are not to abuse or waste what they oversee and manage. They are to act in the place of the owner, following his wishes as responsible caretakers. Stewards are held accountable by the owner for results (Luke 12:47, 16:1-2).
Mismanaging the Earth’s resources puts us all at risk. It reduces our world's ability to properly support us. We are to use the fruits of our labor for our benefit, but we are to be ever conscious that we are accountable to the Creator for whatever harm we cause to His creation. Human enterprise and development must co-exist with responsible environmental protection. The Earth will not last forever, as some believe, but will pass away and be replaced (2 Peter 3:10). Nevertheless, we are to take care of it in our time.
As Christians, we are not to give in to the widespread notions of pantheism (God is in everything) or panic over some seemingly impending environmental crisis. Nor should our aversion to such things be an excuse to avoid our clear responsibilities. We are simply to be good stewards over what Jesus has left us to manage.
The world around us does not need crisis management—it was created with resilience on a grand scale to support human endeavors until the time of mankind is over and history is complete. Instead, our temporary home needs our thoughtful management under Jesus’ direction to enable it to be all He intended for us.
Christians have been silent for too long on the subject of environmental stewardship. We have a responsibility that far exceeds anyone else on Earth. Our God has spoken. His mandate rings out across the ages. We are to obey (James 4:17).
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(Genesis 1:28) And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
(Genesis 9:1-3) And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.”
(Genesis 2:7, 3:19) Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature...“By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
(Jeremiah 10:13) When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
(Genesis 1:11) And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so.
(Genesis 7:17) The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.
(Psalm 104:31, 145:16-17) May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works...You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. The LORD is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.
(Psalm 24:1, 89:11) The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein...The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.
(Luke 12:47, 16:1-2) And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating...He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’”
(2 Peter 3:10) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
(James 4:17) So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
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Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
