Study
Biblical Principles for Respecting the Integrity of Creation
By Calvin B. DeWitt
The Bible is a long-standing guide to life and practice. In a sense it is even a kind of survival manual for living rightly on Earth. It provides principles for the proper care and keeping of Creation — for earthkeeping, the practice of environmental stewardship. While it is necessary in biblical study to read each text in connectedness with the whole of Scripture, with no passage, chapter, or book being read in isolation, it also is helpful to know where one might begin. The principles listed here provide some good access points through which the scriptural teachings on stewardship can be discovered. They are offered to increase opportunities for Bible study by individuals and groups. Each principle is followed by an inspirational passage from Scripture. Next come quotations from the Bible that are connected with each other by a minimum of text.
In using this material, you might wish to read the principles and/or the inspirational quotations for the purposes of edification, reflection, and inspiration. Alternatively, you might wish to select one or more of the principles to be explored in depth. You can also relate your study to the current environmental degradations of creation and no doubt will want to accompany and follow this study with appropriate and effective action. Bible study using this material will be enhanced through the use of prayer, songs, and field study.
1. Acknowledge God as Creator and Owner; do not exchange the truth of creation for a lie.
“You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.” — Nehemiah 9:6
“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.” — 1 Chronicles 29:11
God is Creator of the whole universe, of earth and all its creatures (Genesis 1:1). And while this is richly taught by the Bible, it also is taught by creation itself, “for since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). The whole creation speaks eloquently of the Creator: “the heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge” (Psalm 19:1-2).
We know God as our loving God who “... has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy” (Acts 14:17). It is God who, through Christ, creates all things. “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth... all things were created by him and through him" (Colossians 1:16). Christ is also "before all things” (Colossians 1:17) and pre-exists the creation itself: the Lord brings forth wisdom as the first of God's works, “from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began” (Proverbs 8:22). And God sustains all things — animals, plants, earth, people (Psalm 104) — in Christ “all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16-17).
As the Creator of all, God also is Owner of all: “the earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1; 1 Corinthians 10:26); “to the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it” (Deuteronomy 10:14). “For the foundations of the earth are the Lord's; upon them he has set the world” (1 Samuel 2:8b). God is the land Lord and we are God's tenants (Leviticus 25:23). Our response to this is joy! “For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise” (Psalm 47:7). God's ownership precedes us and it follows us. We can say: “before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (Psalm 90:2).
While we know this from the Bible and from creation itself, some suppress the truth (Romans 1:18), “for although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21). “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things, rather than the Creator — who is forever praised. Amen” (Romans 8:25). The Bible teaches, “remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, when you will say, 'I have no pleasure in them'” (Ecclesiastes 12:1).
2. Delight in God's Law and be God-fearing; do not violate the ordinances by which creation is ordered.
“Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures. Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you.” — Psalm 119:89-91
All creation is governed by the Creator through laws and ordinances. It is highly ordered. “Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration” (Jeremiah 8:7). The Law is overwhelmingly comprehensive and beautiful. Our Creator is also awesome and powerful, inspiring not only respect but even fear. “Should you not fear me?” declares the Lord. “Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it” (Jeremiah 5:22).
But people often neglect and violate God's law: “... these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone away” (Jeremiah 5:22-23); they “do not know the requirements of the Lord” (Jeremiah 8:7).
Our proper response is to honor our Creator, to respect and uphold His creation, to respect and abide by creation's ordinances. “Love the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always” (Deuteronomy 11:1) and receive the grace of God, for “blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart” (Psalm 119:1-2). The psalmist exclaims: “oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long” (Psalm 119:97).
3. Keep God's earth as God keeps us; do not defile or destroy the creation.
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” — Numbers 6:24-26
The Lord blesses us and keeps us. And we in turn are expected to keep the earth. “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15). We join our Creator in keeping creation. When giving land to the stewardship of God's people, our Creator says “it is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end”; it is a land that “drinks rain from heaven” (Deuteronomy 11:11-12), by which the earth is satisfied (Psalm 104:13).
But the Lord expects responsible stewardship and diligent practice of the Law. Otherwise, “the earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the exalted of the earth languish. The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant” (Isaiah 24:4-5). Those who destroy the earth, themselves are destroyed — “... the time has come ...” projects the book of Revelation, “for destroying those who destroy the earth” (Revelation 11:18).
4. Give the land, people, and the creatures their Sabbath rests; do not press creation relentlessly.
“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please ... then you will find joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land …” — Isaiah 58:13
As human beings and animals are to be given their times of sabbath rest - their times for enjoying the fruits of God's Creation — so also must the land be given its sabbath rests. People, the land, and all of its creatures are not to be relentlessly pressed. “Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and the alien as well, may be refreshed” (Exodus 23:12). “For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield; but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the wild beasts may eat” (Exodus 23:10-11). You might wonder about food to eat during the sabbath year; “you may ask, 'what will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?'” God's answer is: “I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years” (Leviticus 25:20), so do not worry, but practice this law so that your land will be fruitful. “If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit” (Leviticus 26:3).
There also is a warning: “... if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands, and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant, (Leviticus 26:14-15) ... your land will be laid waste, and your cities will lie in ruins. Then the land will enjoy its sabbath years all the time it lies desolate ... then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. All the time that it lies desolate, the land will have the rest it did not have during the sabbaths you lived in it” (Leviticus 26:33b-35).
5. Provide for the creatures; do not occupy the land to the exclusion of other creatures.
“He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains. They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among its branches. He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work.” — Psalm 104:10-13
God provides for the creatures, and, reflecting God's image, so should we. We are responsible for the food, water and comfort of animals under our care. And, when God's creatures are threatened with extinction, time, expense and reputation should not be spared in saving them — not only those of economic value, but all creatures — beetles, snails and lizards included. In the face of a deluge, God commanded Noah: “you are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive” (Genesis 6:19-20). But deluges need not be only of the watery kind; they can also be floods of people sprawling over the land and displacing God's creatures and limiting their potential to obey God's command, “be fruitful and increase in number” (Genesis 1:23). To those who would expand across the land at the expense of all other creatures, the prophet warns: “woe to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land” (Isaiah 5:8).
6. Practice contentment; do not exploit the creation beyond meeting your basic needs.
“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.” — 1 Timothy 6:6-9
Our first parents and their succeeding generations were not satisfied with the fruitfulness and grace of the Garden — the gifts of creation (Genesis 3-11). Even though God promised not to forsake them nor leave them, they chose to go our their own way — grasping more and ever more from the creation for selfish advancement. The result is an overexploitation of creation — a pressing of the creation to produce ever more, without limit. But this is not right in the eyes of our Creator, who wants us to pray: “turn my heart to your statutes and not toward selfish gain” (Psalm 119:36). The apostle Paul who has “learned the secret of being content in any and every situation” (Philippians 4:12) writes to Timothy: “... godliness with contentment is great gain ... If we have food and clothing, we will be content with that” (1 Timothy 6:6,8). We are told by Scripture: “keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'never will I leave you; never will I forsake you'” (Hebrews 13:5).
7. Preserve creation's regenerative potential; do not destroy creation's fruitfulness.
“And God said, 'let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.' So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, "be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” — Genesis 1:20-22
The abundant gifts and fruitfulness of God's creation often is not enough for us; we want even more. In pressing the creation for more and yet more some even are willing to destroy creation's fruitfulness. Our Sovereign Lord says: “is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? Must my flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet?” (Ezekiel 34:18-19).
The fruitfulness of living creatures consists in their ability to reproduce themselves; with this fruitfulness we are not to interfere. Thus, Scripture teaches: “if you come across a bird's nest beside the road, either in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young” (Deuteronomy 22:6). Similarly, the fruitfulness of trees must not be destroyed. And, “when you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down” (Deuteronomy 20:19a). The fruitfulness with which the Creator has endowed creation may be enjoyed, but not destroyed.
8. Be a disciple of the Final Adam, Jesus Christ; do not follow earth's destroyers.
“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves ... Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant ...” — Philippians 2:1-3, 5-7
We are descendants of a lineage of people who have sinned — people that have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We are the children of Adam, through whom we have gained the reward of death for choosing to go our own way. “But,” the Scriptures tell us, “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:20-22). Those who follow the Last Adam — Jesus Christ — can help redeem the creation, can help make all things new. “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (Colossians 1:19-20).
The Last Adam, described in Romans 5, undoes the damage of the first Adam. What is degraded by the first Adam and followers is restored by the Last Adam and followers. And Christ's work necessarily is as broad and deep as the destruction brought to creation by the First Adam. Adam brings death and degradation; Christ brings life and restoration. All that the First Adam wrecks, the Last Adam restores. And working as followers of the Last Adam are the children of God, Christ's servant stewards for whom the whole creation is eagerly looking: “... the created order awaits, with eager longing, with neck outstretched, the full manifestation of the children of God.” The futility or emptiness to which the created order is now subject is not something intrinsic to it ... for the creation itself has something to look forward to — namely, to be freed from its present enslavement to disintegration. The creation itself is to share in the freedom, in the glorious and undying goodness, of the children of God.
9. Seek first the Kingdom of God; do not seek gain or self-interest.
“This, then is how you should pray: 'our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'” — Matthew 6:9-13
It is tempting to follow the example of those who accumulate great gain, to creation's detriment. But the Bible assures us: “do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong ... Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:1-4) and “... those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land” (Psalm 37:9).
Christ affirms the inheritance of those who do not arrogantly press their neighbors and the creation for all they are worth: “blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5);” ... seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33). Joy is a by-product of stewardship. Fulfillment is a consequence of seeking the kingdom. It is the kingdom of God — creation restored and renewed - toward which we are striving as children of God.
“This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land ...” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20).
10. Put God's message into practice; do not fail to act on what you know is right.
“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means ... the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.” — Matthew 13:18, 23
Knowing what God’s requirements are for stewardship is not sufficient; they must be put into practice, or they do absolutely no good. Hearing God's message, discussing God's message, singing God's message, contemplating God's message is not at all the same as applying it to real-life situations. The Bible warns: “as for you, son of man, your countrymen are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, 'Come and hear the message that has come from the Lord.' My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice” (Ezekiel 33:30-32).
“Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete” (Luke 6:46-49). “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means... The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful” (Matthew 13:18,22).
Conclusion
Environmental stewardship is not talk; environmental stewardship is action. Environmental stewardship is practice. Environmental stewardship is practicing the stewardship principles we preach and teach. Stewardship evaluates the consequences of human activity for the household of life; exemplifies Christ's Lordship; is exercised only by human beings; involves accountability to God; is an inescapable condition of human existence; requires freedom to exercise it over a fair share of creation; is exercise of delegated dominion in the service of creation, in which each person is delegated responsibility for all of creation; implies responsibility for and responsibility to; points us to a correct knowledge of our place in things; and is foundational for economics.
Calvin B. DeWitt is Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is past Director and CEO of Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies which serves 56 Christian colleges and universities with courses and programs in environmental stewardship in Michigan, Puget Sound, India, and Africa. Dr. DeWitt has been a Spurgeon Guest Lecturer at Denver Seminary. Dr. DeWitt is a member of the Teaching Academy and received the Chancellor's Award for Distinguished Teaching at the University of Wisconsin where he is a member of the graduate faculties of Land Resources, Water Resources Management, Limnology and Marine Science, and Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development. His technical publications are in environmental physiology, wetlands ecology, environmental stewardship, and biblical environmental teachings. His current work is focused on the integration of science and environmental ethics in application to practice and ecological sustainability. His books include Missionary Earthkeeping (Mercer University Press, 1992, with Ghillean T. Prance), EarthWise: A Biblical Response to Environmental Issues (CRC Publications, 1994) and Caring for Creation (Baker Books, 1997).
[Posted by permission from the author granted to Jim Doenges, Climbing For Christ.] |