God created man in his own image,  in the image of God he created him;  male and female he created them.  God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Genesis 1:27-28)

When you are surrounded, as I have been for the past two weeks, by some of earth’s most magnificent trees, it is hard to keep in mind that many areas of the world that once were clothed and carpeted by trees and forests are now denuded and desertified. One reason is that we have forgotten what has been entrusted to us. The principle of responsible care of the earth is found first in the words of the Old Testament. There we find that God is the Creator of the earth (Gen. 1), He is the owner of the earth (Ps. 24:1), and He loves the earth (Ps. 145:9,13). Further, God clearly delegated to us the responsibility of dominion over the earth (Gen. 1:27-28; Ps. 8).

As theologian Francis Schaeffer pointed out early in the 1970s, however, while God has put the earth in our hands, such oversight is still under His greater dominion and care. The logical conclusion of these truths from Scripture is that God, who made, owns, and loves what He created, has in His love permitted people to manage and use the material creation. He is the Landlord; we are His caretakers.

That role is pictured beautifully by the Greek word for “steward”: oikonomeo. This is the same word from which we get the word economy. Economics was originally considered to be the practical operations of a household in which the steward oversaw the production, distribution, and consumption on the landlord’s estate. If we recovered that same understanding of the personal relationship of the steward to the landlord, and the steward’s responsibility to the landlord, we’d more likely handle our Landlord’s material goods in a much more responsible manner.

The Bible is unique among virtually all other ancient scriptures, partly because its beginning chapters so clearly state the foundational purposes for mankind (Gen. 1:26–2:15). One can paraphrase the mandate like this: The creation was very good (Gen. 1:31), and it was perfectly prepared by God to be given over to people so they could develop all its potentialities to the glory of God and to the benefit of all creatures in keeping with the will of God.

More specific direction was given in Genesis 2:15 where Adam was instructed to “tend” and “keep” the Garden of Eden. The extended meaning of the two Hebrew words used here is extremely rich and telling: “Tend” (abad) means to till, work, serve, work for, and/or make self the servant of. “Keep” (shamar) means to have charge of, guard, save life, protect, preserve, observe, refrain, abstain, and/or celebrate. While this command was given in relationship to the Garden, most Christian theologians emphasize that such control was to be extended by Adam and Eve and their descendants to the whole earth.

In essence, the Genesis mandates clearly spell out our role as keepers of the earth—stewards of the true Landlord. One could say that we should be working for God’s “Good Earthkeeping stamp of approval.”

This post is a revised excerpt from Dean’s Discovery Series booklet “Celebrating the Wonder of a Tree.”  You can follow this link to find the booklet online.  You may also obtain a copy or two without charge by following the ordering guidelines on the RBC Discovery Series site.