For the last few months, the news has been dominated by the story of the oil leak in the Gulf. Pictures of pelicans covered in oil and tar balls washing up on beaches crowd our eyes; we hear stories of people whose livelihoods are gone, possibly for good. It makes us want to cry at the damage to creation, andFor the last few months, the news has been dominated by the story of the oil leak in the Gulf. Pictures of pelicans covered in oil and tar balls washing up on beaches crowd our eyes; we hear stories of people whose livelihoods are gone, possibly for good. It makes us want to cry at the damage to creation, and the waste of the resources of this wonderful world which we inhabit.
Over recent years, the main impetus to talk about the environment has been global warming. But whether or not you believe that global warming is occurring, it is clear that humans are having an impact on the environment, and that impact is not always good.
One of the most consistent reminders of the importance of creation is the work of musicians.Whether it’s Louis Armstrong extolling the wonder of trees of green, red roses, blue skies and white clouds in “What a Wonderful World” or U2’s invitation in “Beautiful Day” to respond to God’s recreation after the flood by not letting the world’s beauty “get away”, they call us to pay attention to creation, to celebrate it and to care for it.This is, of course, not new to Christians. Most of us are familiar with the words of Genesis 1:28: “God said to [humans], ‘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 air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’ God said, ‘See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. ” (NRSV) The way that chapter 2 of Genesis tells it, it is humanity who are created first; the plants and animals are then created for human benefit. It’s an incredible blessing.
God has given us creation; we are its stewards. But sometimes we misread that gift. We read the words “subdue” and “dominion” -- and we tend to think the earth is ours to use however we want.
But when we look at how those words are used in the rest of the bible, we see something different. “Subdue” is used most often of the enemies of the people of God: armies and kings and nations who want to do them ill. But creation has no evil intent. It is not ours to attack at will. “Dominion” usually refers to the rule of a king. That rule may be good or bad, but the rule we are called to imitate is that of God, in whose image we are made.
And God’s rule is benevolent, even generous. In Isaiah, God’s rule is described in terms of a new heavens and a new earth, that peaceable kingdom where wolves and lambs, and leopards and goats, and calves and lions and bears all play together, where there is feasting and wine, justice and mercy, and there are no more tears. This dominion is wholly good for all those who live within it; it is a rule of blessing.
That then, is what we as the people of God are called to. We are called to bless this earth of ours. And that means being wise stewards of its bounty, on both the macro and the micro level. We need to work to influence the decisions of governments and multi-nationals, but there are also things we can do on a local level. We can choose public transport over cars where it is available, and walk shorter distances. We can choose to drive more fuel efficient cars. We can consider alternative forms of power such as solar and wind. We can eat food grown locally rather than imported. We can vacation closer to home. And there are benefits: fresher food, more relaxed travel, and so on. And above all, the knowledge that we are acting as good stewards of God’s creation, becoming ourselves a source of blessing -- as God blesses us.
