IT'S ALL GOD'S—ALL OF IT.

Sue Bohlin

Central Truth

Since the earth and everything in it belong to God, we need to take good care of it as His "managers of creation."

For every wild animal in the forest belongs to me,
as well as the cattle that graze on a thousand hills.
I keep track of every bird in the hills,
and the insects of the field are mine.
Even if I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and all it contains belong to me.
(Psalm 50:10-12)

God Himself Is Judge

A Psalm of Asaph.

1 The Mighty One, God the LORD,
    speaks and summons the earth
    from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
    God shines forth.

3 Our God comes; he does not keep silence;^{1

50:3
Or May our God come, and not keep silence}
    before him is a devouring fire,
    around him a mighty tempest.
4 He calls to the heavens above
    and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 “Gather to me my faithful ones,
    who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
6 The heavens declare his righteousness,
    for God himself is judge! Selah

7 “Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
    O Israel, I will testify against you.
    I am God, your God.
8 Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;
    your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9 I will not accept a bull from your house
    or goats from your folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is mine,
    the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the hills,
    and all that moves in the field is mine.

12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
    for the world and its fullness are mine.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
    or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,^{2

50:14
Or Make thanksgiving your sacrifice to God}
    and perform your vows to the Most High,
15 and call upon me in the day of trouble;
    I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

16 But to the wicked God says:
    “What right have you to recite my statutes
    or take my covenant on your lips?
17 For you hate discipline,
    and you cast my words behind you.
18 If you see a thief, you are pleased with him,
    and you keep company with adulterers.

19 You give your mouth free rein for evil,
    and your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother;
    you slander your own mother's son.
21 These things you have done, and I have been silent;
    you thought that I^{3

50:21
Or that the I am} was one like yourself.
But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.

22 Mark this, then, you who forget God,
    lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!
23 The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
    to one who orders his way rightly
    I will show the salvation of God!”

Footnotes

[1] 50:3 Or May our God come, and not keep silence
[2] 50:14 Or Make thanksgiving your sacrifice to God
[3] 50:21 Or that the I am

I married an environmentalist. The first time I saw Ray on campus at the University of Illinois, he was selling balloons for SECS (yeah, say it out loud)—Students for Environmental Concerns. He was green before green was cool. When Ray started studying the creation account in Genesis and discovered that God had given dominion and stewardship of His earth to Adam and Eve, that really turned him on.

So we have recycled ever since it became available. We drive fuel-efficient vehicles. We use cloth bags at the grocery store (when we remember to bring them from the car!). We drink coffee out of mugs instead of Styrofoam cups whenever possible. Ray has planted several trees. You get the picture.

Over the years, being an environmentalist has brought Ray into some pretty, um, "interesting" company. The green movement is filled with people who make no distinction between man and the rest of creation, placing people on the same value plane as snail darters and the Louisiana Quillwort (a small, grass-like aquatic plant). Many worship the earth, even going so far as to turn it into a goddess and engaging in a form of worship of the creation instead of its Creator.

But Christians have the best reasons to be good managers and stewards of God's earth because we know and love the One who created it, the One who says, "the world and all it contains belongs to me." (Psalm 50:12) When we take good care of something that belongs to God, we honor Him and fulfill one of His desires and plans for us. "God blessed [Adam and Eve] and said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.'" (Genesis 1:28) What a marvelous invitation from the God who owns it all! But we must never forget that in subduing and caring for the earth, we must always honor the One who says, "Remember, it all belongs to Me."

1. Do you understand the difference between a worldview that believes all is one—everything is an equal part of "the one" reality—with no transcendent God, and the Christian worldview that says God is separate from and above His creation?
2. Do you have any "earth-unfriendly" habits that might not be good stewardship of God's planet?
3. What one thing can you do today to be a good steward of the earth that will serve as an act of worship for the One to whom it belongs?