Good Stewards

Mark Dunagan
03/14/10 - Sunday Morning

We live in a world where environmental concerns loom large in the minds of many individuals. Some have argued that Christianity’s focus is the next world alone, and that it really doesn’t have an answer when it comes to the stewardship of this planet. Admittedly some professing believers have interpreted passages such asGenesis 1:28 “fill the earth and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth”, as meaning that God does not really care what we do with our natural resources and that we are allowed to exploit all earthly things. In this lesson I will seek to prove that Christianity is in fact the only point of view that has a solid and lasting answer for our environmental concerns.

Our God Is Unique!

“Not only does God exist, but what kind of a God exists? The Judaistic-Christian God is completely different from all the other gods in the world. He is a personal-infinite God. The gods of the East are infinite by definition... but they are never personal. In contrast, the gods of the West, the Greek and Roman gods, the great god Thor and the Anglo-Saxon gods, were personal but were always limited and finite. So the Judaistic-Christian God is unique: He is infinite, and He is, at the same time, personal” (Pollution and the Death of Man, The Christian View of Ecology, Francis A. Schaeffer, p. 47).

Modern Science Springs From The Scriptures

“The beginning of the Christian view of nature is the concept of creation: that God was there before the beginning and God created everything out of nothing. From this, we must understand that creation is not an extension of the essence of God. Created things have an existence in themselves. They are really there. Whitehead, Oppenheimer, and others have pointed out that modern science was only born out of a surrounding consensus of historic Christianity. Why? Because, as Whitehead has emphasized, Christianity believes that God has created an external world that is really there and because He is a reasonable God, one can expect to be able to find the order of the universe by reason. It is the biblical view of nature that gives nature a value in itself” (Schaeffer, p. 47).

Others Cannot Address “Why”

Both Eastern religion and Evolution are completely unable to tell uswhy we should take good care of this earth. Most Eastern religions have a fundamental problem with even the idea of this planet actually being here – the Bible states the obvious – that it indeed is. Furthermore, Evolution is actually anti-environmental, for it is a theory that not only proposes mutation as beneficial, but also that everything is merely the product of a cosmological accident and therefore has no value whatsoever. In other words, the typical person today who is concerned about the environment really does not know why. They have a belief without any foundation or base. If there is no God there is no good or evil, not right or wrong, including the rightness of honoring God’s workmanship, or evil of bad stewardship. Christian, let’s keep pressing atheists with the question, “Why”.

We Are Linked With All Created Things

Unlike manmade belief systems, the Bible does not make the serious gaffe of devaluing mankind by making “the system” or “back-drop” more important (or just as important) as man. It is clear that man is created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26) and is far more valuable than the planet (Matthew 16:26) or anything on it (Matthew 12:12 “Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep”). So on the one hand we are separated from the creation, in that we are truly unique, and yet on the other hand we are united with the rest of creation, in that we are both the product of God’s handiwork.

• I will not make the mistake of thinking that animals and trees can complete me (Genesis 2:18ff) or communicate with me.
• I will not look to them for my primary meaning, fulfillment and happiness.
• Yet I will remember my connection with them, “I too am one of God’s wonderful works”. “He made me too”. The creation is quite dependent upon God, including me.

Christians Must Treat With Integrity All Things Created

Only the Christian can truly know the value of all things or treat things with “integrity” for the precise reason that He knows that God created everything. “So the Christian treats ‘things’ with integrity because we do not believe they are autonomous. The value of the things is not in themselves autonomously, but that God made them, and thus they deserve to be treated with high respect. The tree in the field is to be treated with respect. It is not to be romanticized (as if it had feelings). When you drive the axe into the tree when you need firewood, you are not cutting down a person; you are cutting down a tree. But while we should not romanticize the tree, we must realize God made it and it deserves respect because He made it as a tree. The Christian is a man who has a reason for dealing with each created thing on a high level of respect” (Schaeffer, pp. 54-55). On the other hand, the atheist or evolutionist does not have a reason. If, everything is just the product of blind chance, then nothing has real value. Therefore, I do not view the tree as being worthless – that would be an insult to the God who made it, and yet equally insulting would be to view the tree has having more importance than man. “Thus God treats His creation with integrity: each thing in its own order, each thing the way He made it. If God treats the tree like a tree... the man like a man, shouldn’t I? And for the highest reason: because I love God – I love the One who has made it! Loving the Lover who has made it, I have respect for the thing He has made” (Schaeffer, p. 57). So God does not under-value anything and neither does He over-value anything.

We Avoid the Trap of Romanticizing Nature

“It should be said that it is correct to reject the romanticizing of nature as an answer or a solution. First, nature, as it now is, is not always benevolent (Genesis 3:19); and second, to project our feelings and thoughts into a tree would mean that we would have no base upon which to justify cutting down and using the tree as a shelter for man”(Schaeffer, p. 19).

We have the Highest Reason

Only the Bible gives the highest reason why we should be good stewards of this creation. When asked the question, “Why should we take care of our natural resources” many might say something like, “Because I want there to be clean water and air for many children and grandchildren”. This is a good answer, yet it is also a self-serving answer, that is, “because it affects me!” “If modern man speaks of protecting the ecological balance of nature it is only on the pragmatic level for man, with no basis for nature’s having any real value in itself”(Schaeffer, p. 90). The Bible actually ascends much higher and says, “Because it belongs to God” (Psalm 24:1).

The Right View of “Have Dominion”

“And God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28).

Unfortunately, some have felt that this verse was giving man the right of limitless exploitation, yet it is clear that God never intended any such thought. When God tells us to rule in other areas, it always has the idea of a responsible, godly and kind rule, such as when a man rules his household (1 Timothy 3:4), leads his wife (Ephesians 5:24-25), or when elders rule a congregation (1 Peter 5:2-3). God clearly does not exploit; He certainly would not allow such of us.

The Principle of Self-Limitation

• Just because I have the power to do something or the opportunity never means I can do anything I want. Adam and Eve had the power to eat from the forbidden fruit – yet it did not mean that they had to exercise that power.
• Even in the realm of lawful things, not all choices are wise (1 Corinthians 6:12).
• I do have the right to make a profit (1 Timothy 5:8), yet this does not mean that I should charge my customers as much as I can.
• I have the right to use the resources of the planet – yet this never gave me the right to be irresponsible, wasteful or greedy. 
• The animal may not have a soul – but this is irrelevant – the animal is still to be treated with the respect it deserves as one of God’s creatures (Deut. 25:4; Exodus 34:26; Proverbs 12:10).

“Thus, the Christian does not do all he can do. He has a limiting principle, and in doing less, he has more, for his own humanness is at stake. A girl should not be treated as a sex object to be used simply for pleasure. A man should not be treated as a consumer object simply for bigger profit” (Schaeffer, p. 88). There is a warning here. The person who greedily exploits their customers is not only destroying their customer base, but themselves as well. The person who treats people as mere objects for gratification will not only destroy those relationships, but even their ability to enjoy such pleasures in the future. Let’s learn to be wise enough to know when to say “enough” (Proverbs 25:16).

We Keep the “Wonder”

“Near the end of his life, Darwin acknowledged several times in his writings that two things had become dull to him as he aged. The first was his joy in the arts; and the second, his joy in nature. This is very intriguing. Darwin offered his proposition that nature, including man, is based only on the impersonal plus time plus chance, and he has to acknowledge at the end of his life that it had had these adverse affects on him” (Schaeffer, p. 11). Here again, only the Bible gives the right foundation on which we can always remain fascinated with the creation (Psalm 19:1). If the earth only points to the earth, and if man only points to man, then we will become bored with it all – yet for the lover of God, wonder remains because it reflects so much that is wonderful in Him!