In an era where, for the first time, human impacts outweigh natural or non-human processes (the anthropocene) the need to tread with a lighter step on this planet seems to carry a sense of very present, sluggish doom for me. For others, the anthropocene defines the result of natural human population growth. And then perhaps there are 7 billion other opinions in between. So are people destroying the planet or simply acting as a natural progression of created or evolved life? As you might have noticed, my inclination is to look to God for answers concerning me and the environment. Looking for answers in the Bible delivers texts like this:
“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.””
Genesis 1:28 NIV
Be fruitful and multiply! Done
“For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.”
Romans 8:20-21 NIV
Bondage and decay? Wait, what?
“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”
1 Corinthians 10:26 NIV
Everything belongs to God sooooo, who is on the hook here? We did our part right?
Sometimes I find myself guilty of stitching together a patchwork of information like the verses above to try and create a beautiful picture of thought. It’s like I think the act of combining random details will form something uniform on its own. When I do this in my spiritual life I often collect nuggets of info from the Bible, Christian literature and messages provided by professional speakers. I adopt the positions and expositions of these thought providers and form my own through a certain lens that I hold over the scriptures.
So what does your picture look like? Has human kind fulfilled the command to subdue the earth? If we removed the clear atrocities that people have committed against the natural environment, is this the kind of development and domination of the earth that God had predestined? I will refer back to my blog on Dominion again for more on my thoughts of what dominion as a follower of Jesus means but without further delay let’s attempt to supersede the patchwork approach and find a holistic view that resonates with the core of our created nature. That’s right, I am presupposing that we are created beings originating from one God, all held together by the same fabric of the love of Jesus (there’s probably a whole lot more to say here. I would love to get your take...).
Here’s what resonates with me - Everything that I touch originates from the single source that gives me life and meaning. As a human, being a bridge between spiritual and physical and having dominion over everything; everything that I touch should experience greater life and meaning through me, right?
Test it out for yourself. Try this exercise. In the list of items below, see if you can relate to having dominion over each one, determine it’s life and meaning and how you can give back to that object. I’ve provided my thoughts next to each but I encourage you to do it for yourself.
A tree
I hold dominion, I can cut it down, give it water, place mulch around it or shape it as I like. As one who’s life is touched by the love of Jesus I may feel a pull to simply appreciate the years, sun, rain and soil that went in to the growth of the tree. I may see use for it’s lumber in extending love to others such as a table, shelter or art piece. I may see damage from an insect and by cutting it down and letting it rot it could provide nutrients to other plants. To view it in this way I avoid thoughts of personal profit by taking what I want from it, I understand better it’s value based on the common love that holds us together.
A textbook
I can read it, ignore it, give it, destroy it. I can begrudge having to study it but it represents a person’s labour both in content and manufacture. There were people who poured in to it so that the student of it’s pages can better understand the nature of things. It required energy and water and pigments and machinery. I can give it meaning if I use it as the love of Jesus would have me do. I can give it life by taking and sharing from its pages.
A table
I can respect or disrespect it. It can hold beautiful food or hoarded clutter. I can consider the value it holds for those who might eat there, I can think about it’s origins and materials. The hands that made it and the people that need it. It is a tool that gains life from my actions around it.
A plastic cup
I can use it for any purpose I wish or leave it where it is. I can consider it’s life cycle from oil well to landfill or recycling into another product. The jobs created. I can think about the longevity of it’s useful life in relation to the rest of it’s life from extraction from the earth to it’s oceanic journeys. I can give it life by using it over and over.
A person
I can give or take from this person. My words and actions can bring life, remain neutral or destroy. If I consider my role as co-created I can bring meaning to this person through simple connection and a sense of belonging.
I hope this exercise gives you some inspiration to be a steward of life. I don’t think we create life by thoughtful consideration of everything around us, we just call out the life it was given when God breathed it all into existence. If we look at the dawn of the anthropocene and our created dominion through this lens of giving life to all we touch, by nature we tend to tread more lightly on the earth. First of all it takes time to bring life. It is much faster to destroy than to grow. Just plant a tomato seed and wait for a tomato. It takes a long time, whereas I can throw out a perfectly good tomato in a matter of seconds. Secondly, when we see the life and meaning in something and we possess some shred of love, that love wells up inside of us and we do what we can to inspire more life from that one thing rather than pass it over and move on to the next.
Is this you? Are you living it up as a life giver? Do you bring meaning to all you touch or do you take?
One last thought from me. As awareness of the wastefulness of humanity grows and we drink our coke faster before the paper straw starts to dissolve, I think this concept of bringing life works in the transition times too. If you have a plastic fork don’t just throw it out. Make the most use you can out of it. Go out of your way to wash and reuse it. When you are done with it, see if your area recycles that type of plastic. Not only does this give a touch more meaning to all the resources that went into making it, you will also likely think twice before you accept another free fork.