Stewards Over God’s Creation

Reflection

“We are stewards of God’s creation” is currently a statement or a subject that has received little attention from most believers. When God created the heavens and the earth, he designed every aspect of the environment, and the biblical testimony describes how God looked at what he had made: “… and God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:25). Even with this statement, the Bible tells us that the “crown” of creation was not the environment, nor the other created beings, but the human being created in God’s image, after His likeness. Looking at the creation account, God gave man the dual responsibility of being a steward of creation when he said, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (1:28). God’s perspective also included a second responsibility—the preservation of the environment. This was given to man as a commandment, an order from God, which implied not only to use and transform it, but also to care for it.

Without this proper relationship between man and his environment, we would not be able to notice God’s joy over creation as recorded in Genesis 1:31: “And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.”

From the thoughts expressed in this reflection, we must ask ourselves these questions:

Is Christianity to blame for the environmental crisis? As Christians, how should we treat the physical world? What is the value of non-human life? How careful should we be with nature? How does God view non-human creation? 

It is because of human hands and humanity’s fallen condition that inadequate/inappropriate use of nature occurs. This includes the indiscriminate exploitation of resources, which were created for man’s use, and cruelty towards animals for which man’s responsibility/stewardship included their care. I believe Adam carefully assigned the name to each of the animals expressing dominion, but also care. Furthermore, God instructed his people in the law to make proper use of the environment. For the children of Israel, appropriate use included not polluting the earth and allowing it to rest [from time to time]. God, in his omniscience, established these balances knowing that the resources exploited were few in relation to the existing population; however, the increase in population and the overuse of natural resources have made the challenge of preserving and restoring a very difficult task. As a result, the earth itself groans, awaiting the renewal of all things (Romans 8:19-23). During the pandemic, the earth rested, which had been a historical struggle since the 17th century. However, today we do not allow the earth to rest. The use of chemicals, mining, and the like have caused the earth to be again in the same state it was before the pandemic.

Conclusion

Since we are stewards over God’s creation, what should our motivation be? Are we good stewards for pragmatic reasons or for moral reasons? The pragmatic approach posits that we must be good stewards of the world because it is necessary in order to survive. For example, if we irresponsibly cultivate the land, we lose the layer of good soil on the surface, jeopardizing the possibility of producing food. If we carelessly kill snakes, we will have a plague of rodents. If we recklessly extract copper from the mines, we cause horrendous erosion that damages the water. If we burn forests, we pollute the air, destroy oxygen-producing trees, and damage our oxygen supply. But the Bible rejects this as the primary motive for being good stewards.

Rather, the Scriptures beseech man to exercise good stewardship over the physical world because this demonstrates honor and respect for something God has created. The physical creation should not be exploited because it is morally wrong to misuse God’s creation. When we have God’s perspective, we farm responsibly, avoid unnecessary destruction of animal life, mine copper sensibly, and stop burning forests because we respect and honor what God has honored and respected. We show honor to the physical world with which God has a covenant. Christians, then, must be theologically responsible leaders. As God’s stewards, we represent him when we honor his physical world. The opening verse, Revelation 11:18, tells us that God will also take into account, in his judgment, those who harm his creation; this includes harming the place where we live. Let us respect the rules that preserve our world.

Reflection

“We are stewards of God’s creation” is currently a statement or a subject that has received little attention from most believers. When God created the heavens and the earth, he designed every aspect of the environment, and the biblical testimony describes how God looked at what he had made: “… and God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:25). Even with this statement, the Bible tells us that the “crown” of creation was not the environment, nor the other created beings, but the human being created in God’s image, after His likeness. Looking at the creation account, God gave man the dual responsibility of being a steward of creation when he said, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (1:28). God’s perspective also included a second responsibility—the preservation of the environment. This was given to man as a commandment, an order from God, which implied not only to use and transform it, but also to care for it.

Without this proper relationship between man and his environment, we would not be able to notice God’s joy over creation as recorded in Genesis 1:31: “And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.”

From the thoughts expressed in this reflection, we must ask ourselves these questions:

Is Christianity to blame for the environmental crisis? As Christians, how should we treat the physical world? What is the value of non-human life? How careful should we be with nature? How does God view non-human creation? 

It is because of human hands and humanity’s fallen condition that inadequate/inappropriate use of nature occurs. This includes the indiscriminate exploitation of resources, which were created for man’s use, and cruelty towards animals for which man’s responsibility/stewardship included their care. I believe Adam carefully assigned the name to each of the animals expressing dominion, but also care. Furthermore, God instructed his people in the law to make proper use of the environment. For the children of Israel, appropriate use included not polluting the earth and allowing it to rest [from time to time]. God, in his omniscience, established these balances knowing that the resources exploited were few in relation to the existing population; however, the increase in population and the overuse of natural resources have made the challenge of preserving and restoring a very difficult task. As a result, the earth itself groans, awaiting the renewal of all things (Romans 8:19-23). During the pandemic, the earth rested, which had been a historical struggle since the 17th century. However, today we do not allow the earth to rest. The use of chemicals, mining, and the like have caused the earth to be again in the same state it was before the pandemic.

Conclusion

Since we are stewards over God’s creation, what should our motivation be? Are we good stewards for pragmatic reasons or for moral reasons? The pragmatic approach posits that we must be good stewards of the world because it is necessary in order to survive. For example, if we irresponsibly cultivate the land, we lose the layer of good soil on the surface, jeopardizing the possibility of producing food. If we carelessly kill snakes, we will have a plague of rodents. If we recklessly extract copper from the mines, we cause horrendous erosion that damages the water. If we burn forests, we pollute the air, destroy oxygen-producing trees, and damage our oxygen supply. But the Bible rejects this as the primary motive for being good stewards.

Rather, the Scriptures beseech man to exercise good stewardship over the physical world because this demonstrates honor and respect for something God has created. The physical creation should not be exploited because it is morally wrong to misuse God’s creation. When we have God’s perspective, we farm responsibly, avoid unnecessary destruction of animal life, mine copper sensibly, and stop burning forests because we respect and honor what God has honored and respected. We show honor to the physical world with which God has a covenant. Christians, then, must be theologically responsible leaders. As God’s stewards, we represent him when we honor his physical world. The opening verse, Revelation 11:18, tells us that God will also take into account, in his judgment, those who harm his creation; this includes harming the place where we live. Let us respect the rules that preserve our world.