God Gave Us Dominion: Responsibility and Stewardship
After God created mankind, Genesis 1:28-31 says: “ God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground. Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant of the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food. God saw all that he had made and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.”
God gave us dominion which means “in the realm of biblical interpretation, the word ‘dominion’ carries profound significance that extends beyond its simple definition. The biblical meaning of dominion encompasses themes of authority, stewardship, and the relationship between humanity and creation…In this passage(Genesis 1:26-28) dominion is not portrayed as a divine mandate to steward and care for creation. This stewardship implies responsibility, suggesting that dominion in about nurturing and protecting the world around us rather than exploiting it.[1]”
It seems that dominion in God’s eyes is more about caring for the Earth and its plants and creatures so that they can continue to meet our needs and theirs than using the Earth for human needs. So here we are in the age of Global Warming with its huge hurricanes, floods, fires and more that has come to us because we have abused our God-given “dominion” of this Earth and all that lives on it in order to enrich ourselves, regardless of what that does to the plants and animals that we’re supposed to care for. We are also threatening our own existence by continuing to use fossil fuels. The worst part of the devastation to the earth has happened to the species of animals across the world. Overall, there has been “a 73 per cent decline, on average, in monitored mammal, bird, fish, amphibians and reptile populations over the last 50 years.”[2] In the 2024 LPR analysis and the UN’s IPBES Global Assessment report “shows that the biggest driver is habitat loss and degradation, which itself is driven by factors ranging from human activities like logging, mining and agriculture to climate impacts like worsening floods and fires.”[3]
If we had seen and valued how the Native Americans take care of the Earth that serves them, we would not be in this predicament today. Reciprocity between what the Earth provides for the tribes and how the Native Tribes take care of the Earth that takes care of them is a completely new idea for those of us wo live in modern industrialized countries. Robin Wall Kimmerer, a Native American and a biologist, writes a lot about this reciprocity in her book, Braiding Sweetgrass, that sustains the tribal land areas, keeps them healthy and productive. It is a basic tenet of Native American ways to give back to the land what the land gives to them.
Dominion means taking care of the plants and animals, so that they can be fed and thrive, as well as every human being can be fed and thrive, too. With global warming and the loss of so many plants and animals across the world, we have reduced the number of animals and plants and destroyed the future of this earth for all the plants and animals and humans without one thought about changing how we treat this earth and all that sustains us and the plants and animals. We must change our uses of gasoline and oil and coal, plus any poisonous chemicals that we abuse our land and water with. Here’s a summary of how toxic chemicals ruin our land and waters:
“The effects of toxic chemicals can be broadly categorized into direct and indirect impacts. Direct effects occur when organisms are directly exposed to the chemical, leading to immediate consequences like poisoning, reproductive failure, or death. These effects are often observed in areas with high concentrations of pollutants, such as industrial discharge zones or agricultural runoff sites. Indirect effects, on the other hand, are more subtle and often manifest over longer periods. They occur when the chemical alters the environment in a way that impacts organisms indirectly. For example, a pesticide that kills a specific insect species could disrupt the food chain, leading to declines in populations of birds or other predators that rely on that insect for food. Similarly, chemicals that alter soil pH can impact plant growth and nutrient availability, indirectly affecting the entire ecosystem.”[4]
We can all see and feel the effects of global warming today; we get news reports from all over the world about the fires, the floods, the extreme weather effects, and more. We need to work as a community of nations to greatly reduce these effects. The health of human beings can be greatly affected by Global Warming effects: “increased respiratory and cardiovascular disease, injuries and premature deaths related to extreme weather events, changes in the prevalence and geographical distribution of food- and water-borne illnesses and other infectious diseases, and threats to mental health.”[5]
“A new international study finds that more than five million extra deaths(of people) a year can be attributed to abnormal hot and cold temperatures.”[6] I know that I’ve switched from writing about animals to humans, but what affects us also affects all the animals across the world. In fact, plants are affected, too, and they suffer from
“lowered productivity…the spread of invasive plants…vulnerability to pests…saltwater intrusion…altered ecosystem structure.”[7]
This is the time when we must face how our habits of living and shopping and driving and more are affecting our climate and our ability to live in the interdependent world that God created for us. We must reverse the effects of all this pollution, so that we can live in community as God planned for us with the plants and the animals of this Earth. We must honor all the inhabitants of this interdependent world, in order to live into a future that will help all the inhabitants in this glorious community!
[1] https://bibledictionarytoday.com/words/dominion/
[2] https://wwf.ca/stories/73-per-cent-decline-global-wildlife-populations-lpr2024/
[3] https://www.bing.com/search?FORM=ARPSEC&PC=ARPL&PTAG=1319&q=explaining%20the%2073%20per%20cent%20decline%20in%20global%20wildlife%20populations%28and%20what%20we%20can%20do%20about%20it%29
[4] https://iere.org/what-do-toxic-chemicals-do-to-the-environment/
[5] https://www.cdc.gov/climate-health/php/effects/index.html
[6] https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/07/210707185329.htm
[7] https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/plants-climateimpact.htm click here.