The Dominance Factor

Day six is so remarkable and unique that it warrants a second look. In fact, we will spend one more post on day six next time. I want to look at another unique aspect of the creation of human beings on day six, what I call the "dominance factor."

God said to His newly created male and female human in Genesis 1:28, "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 heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

God the Creator specifically gave our ancestors dominance over all else that He created. That doesn't mean that we, as inheritors of this dominance factor, own what God created. Our dominance is not inherent, that is, we are not dominant over the rest of creation simply because we are human beings. The "dominance factor" is a gift granted to us by the Creator! What authority we exercise we possess only because God has granted it to us. It is a secondary authority, a bit like the authority that a property manager has over the property of his employer. We are stewards, managers, and caretakers of God's estate. Therefore we are responsible to care for the creation as best we can for the good of ourselves and the good of the rest of creation.

In today's world, there seem to be two opposite errors that are made concerning care for the creation. One is to elevate the creation itself to "godlike" status and engage in the popular liberal pastime of hyper-environmentalism. This position not only dishonors God, it ends up destructive of the very thing that it seeks to elevate. The second error is to believe that our authority over creation is a license to abuse God's creatures and created environment.

We should view our dominance as a privilege that we take seriously enough to truly care for God's created order. We should manage for the good of the environment and all that reside on this earth, which includes human beings as well. Yes, we have dominance gifted to us. We have the authority to use the resources of the natural world. We do not have the right to worship it, or to abuse the privilege God has graciously given to us from the very beginning.