By Margaret Byfield
(2nd in Seven-part series)
Last week we answered the question “What is creation worship?” This week, we take a closer look at the seven responsibilities God has given to mankind to steward His creation.
God has not left how we are to steward His creation a mystery. In fact, he sets forth his requirements in the first two chapters of the Bible. In Genesis 1 and 2 he commands mankind to:
“Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.” (Genesis 1:28)
The LORD God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. (Genesis 2:15)
These two passages set forth the seven responsibilities we are given to steward creation. God has not added to these, nor has he taken any away. These are:
- Be fruitful
- Multiply
- Fill the earth
- Subdue the earth
- Rule the fish, birds, livestock, every creature that crawls, and the whole earth
- Work the earth
- Watch over earth
The first three principles are well understood to mean we have dominion over the natural world. Many other passages confirm man is made ruler over the works of God, putting everything under our feet.
“You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all the sheep and oxen, as well as the animals in the wild, the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea that pass through the currents of the seas.” (Psalm 8:6-8)
The fourth and fifth principles, “to work it and watch over it” (Genesis 2:15), express the biblical principle of stewardship. We are to wisely use the land, make it flourish, and use the provisions from the land to improve human prosperity. We actively watch over the land and animals, working and taming nature so that it is fruitful and increasing abundantly until the day God replaces our world with a new heaven and earth.
That is a key principle to understand. God designed the natural world to be tended and worked by man. The earth flourishes when man uses the land. If man is removed from this role, and nature is left to its own, it becomes a wasteland.
In the parable of the barren tree told in Luke, a man had a fig tree that failed to produce fruit for three years and threatened to cut it down. But the vineyard worker replied “Sir, leave it this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. Perhaps it will produce fruit next year, but if not, you can cut it down’” (Luke 13:8–9)
This parable about grace teaches a core stewardship principle: nature left on its own can be unfruitful, but when you work it and care for it, nature can produce abundant fruit.
Instead of being a cancer to the earth, as some environmentalists believe, mankind is essential to the flourishing of God’s creation. This understanding of land stewardship can be found throughout the Bible.
Isaiah 45:18 states that God did not create the earth to be a wasteland, but to be inhabited, implying it is necessary for man to work the land to make it fruitful.
Proverbs 28:19 instructs that the one “who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.” Not only are we commanded to make the land productive, but those who fail to do so are destined to be impoverished. Protecting the land instead of productively using it is considered foolish.
Proverbs 24:30-34 also makes this point: I went by the field of a slacker and by the vineyard of one lacking sense. Thistles had come up everywhere, weeds covered the ground, and the stone wall was ruined. I saw, and took it to heart; I looked, and received instruction: a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the arms to rest, and your poverty will come like a robber, and your need like a bandit.
Possibly one of the best examples of what good land stewardship looks like comes from the parable of the ten minas told in Matthew 25:14-29 and Luke 19:11-26. A king gives his servants minas and instructs them to “Engage in business until I come back.” One servant turned one mina into ten, and another turned one mina into five. Both were made stewards over more of the king’s business. “Well done, good servant!”
But a third reported, “Master, here is your mina. I have kept it safe in a cloth because I was afraid of you ….” He was called an “evil servant,” and even the one mina was taken away from him.
God gave us dominion over creation and instructed us to fill the earth and make it flourish. Then He gave us the formula of how we are to do this successfully: “work it and watch over it.”
If we are to obediently fulfill His command and turn the one mina into ten, we will wisely cultivate the resources He has given us. What we should not do is follow the example of the “evil servant” who protects the resources from man. This creates wastelands and poverty.
If His creation needs protecting, we can depend on God to carry this out. He did not leave us alone in this work. God is actively engaged in creation’s prosperity.
“But the land you are entering to possess is a land of mountains and valleys, watered by rain from the sky. It is a land the Lord your God cares for. He is always watching over it from the beginning to the end of the year.” (Deuteronomy 11:11-12)
Throughout the Bible, we read that it is God and not man who is in control of our physical world. And just as He feeds the sparrow and clothes the lilies, so has He promised to feed and care for us. We are more valuable to Him than any other part of His creation.
God is sovereign over all. We are stewards of that which belongs to Him. We will be judged by whether we care for His resources as He commands, or as man directs. How we steward creation is our witness to whom we trust more, man or God.
Next week we will examine whether the secular philosophies of environmentalism and conservation align with scripture as we answer the question “Does God Direct us to ‘save the Earth’?”
If you want to dig deeper into this topic, you can download the full Stewarding Creation guide here.
Note: All scripture references are from the Christian Standard Bible (CBS) translation.
