A Stewardship Story.

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The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it….
Psalm 24:1 New International Version

The earth belongs to the Lord, as well as all that is in it.  There is a quite consistent, insistent emphasis on ownership in the Scripture.  The earth does not belong to itself.  In fact, we do not belong to ourselves.  The earth, and we, belong to God.

‘The earth is the Lord’s….”  It is not ours.  This changes how we view our relationship to the earth.  This orients our minds to pursue God’s will, even with respect to the earth.  We live on the earth by God’s good grace.  Our use of the earth reflects our love for God and our desire to honor him day by day.  It is a reflection of a ‘whole spirituality.’

Humankind, from the beginning, was to have the role of caretaker over the earth.  This kind of stewardship is an important element of the core values of Christianity.  God invited humankind to fill the earth; to subdue it; to have dominion over all the creatures of the earth.

Having dominion doesn’t mean abusing.  We exercise stewardship of the earth in a way that blesses God, and honors him and the work of his creation.  We are people of both earth and heaven.  We honor God in the way that we treat his creation.

Here are a few ways we could implement God’s original intention for us with respect to our relationship to the earth:

• Compost yard waste
• Worm compost vegetable produce
• Make and/or hang up a bird house
• Use a hummingbird feeder and other ‘regular’ bird feeder
• Use native plants in our landscaping
• Reusable grocery bags
• Walk or ride a bike to work/school and on errands if possible
• Plant shrubs in the yard that provide protection for birds
• Drink water rather than soda (which has the added benefit of good stewardship of our bodies!)
• ?? Your ideas?

Creator Father, work in me the heart and hands of a good steward of your earth. Amen.

Text and picture, Copyright Don Schatz