People have brought a number of serious problems in the 21st century: food
shortage, polluted physical and spiritual environment, global
climate change, waste of natural resources, the cult of consumption, loss of
biodiversity, poor health care is only the visible part of this iceberg.
Enlightenment culture along with the experience of industrialization encouraged
people to think that the aim of society is material progress. To reach this
aim, man had the right and even the duty to reign over all living creatures and
use them, thus supporting the secular worldview, which did not take into
account the Creator or the goals of His creation. On the contrary, the world
created was seen as a repository of raw materials, which acquire value only
through exploitation.
The Creator has invited people to participate in His creation and given
us a different role in the created world only within the limits He has
determined. People are God's agency, representing
Him and monitoring the world, as well as taking care for the quality of its
existence. The call “Be fruitful and
multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion”[1]
gives no order allowing despotic tyranny, but instead invites us to be God’s co-workers
and manage His property.
Co-workers
In the story of creation, God entrusts people with two serious tasks on
which depends the sustainable existence of the created world. At first, He
clearly points out the position of humans among other creatures “subdue the earth and have dominion over
creatures”[2]. This
often starts a discussion on the fact that this is the basis for the
development of creation’s exploitation and depletion.
The Creator chose the man to be the
ear of creation, to hear God’s voice when He wishes to say something to His
creation. God chose the man to be the
eyes of creation, capable of seeing the glory of God in everything created and
see those in need of assistance and protection. But, first of all, the man is
chosen to be the mouth of creation, so
that after hearing the Creator’s call he could answer Him and worship and pray
to Him both for himself and on behalf of all creatures. It is the task of a
priest, so that every living creature would receive the idea of God’s
greatness, beauty and compassion. To be an intermediary between the created and
the Creator.
To subdue and have domination means to explore and to serve, since this is the way
in which people fulfil God’s intentions. This command from the Scripture makes people
rule over the created world by the same methods as those He offered in Christ’s
example – to be a servant-lord.
As God’s co-worker man continues and represents God’s creativity in the
world. This is reflected in the establishment of certain order, construction
and decoration in our surroundings, for example, picturesque farms, refined
birch groves and blooming flower beds in the yards of town houses. God receives
satisfaction and joy from His creation; He wants that the people living in the
world created by Him and watching it would experience the same joy and
satisfaction when thinking about Him and His work. This common joy opens the
door to different sides of human creativity – arts, music, writing, and many
other cultural manifestations.
Stewards
The second, equally important task which God reveals in the story of
Creation and which is directly related to the responsibility for the surrounding
environment is this – “to work it and
take care of it”[3].
From the beginning, the task of man has been to guard over the world created by
God, to care for the creation and help it with love. To be a steward chosen by
God in front of the creation, to be an ecologist appointed by Him.
A steward oversees somebody else’s property. He does not have any legal
claims for the property, but he is responsible before the owner. The same goes
for people and the world. Nobody has the right to dispose of God’s creation
arrogantly or independently. The Scripture says: “you put everything under his feet”[4],
but it is not an encouragement for mindless mismanagement, rather care and
affection.
It is not easy to recognize this. We see God’s creation only as a raw
material to increase welfare, but it is not unlimited. The value of our welfare
is the price the next generations will pay for the opportunity to live in an empty
and jaded world. Christians too, as part of society, must take responsibility
for this situation.
The mouth of Creation, which should glorify God, has become a scary muzzle, blaspheming the Creator
and divinizing itself. The image of God has become a God’s
caricature opposed by the whole creation. The kind God’s hand has turned into a
bloody fist: a shepherd has turned into a butcher, a guardian – into a
thief.
Jesus reminds – “We know that the
whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the
present time.”[5]
Investment in caring for God’s creation is not only a possibility, it is
rather a testimony of Christ’s life and attitude towards it. It is the missed
opportunity – the narrow path. The concept of sustainable development includes this
principle of narrow path, expressing
itself in seeking such a pattern of behaviour and solutions that would
correspond to stable and safe existence of people and creation. In this
situation, Christians may offer to integrate the principle of simple lifestyle (the principle of sufficiency) and the
love for neighbour. For the sake of life, people should be able to make
sacrifices and create an optimistic approach to life in Christ in the midst of the
eternal debate between the optimistic and pessimistic worldview.
Valdis
Antons
Master of Environmental Education
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