Scripture:
Genesis 1:28-30
God
blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the
earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and
over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every
seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit
with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds
in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has
the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
Part of God’s blessings to us is entrusting us to rule over
creation. Humankind is the pinnacle of everything there is in this world. We’re
the leaders of all God made here.
And God only gave us one rule for exercising our authority. He gave humans and animals plants for food, not other animals. The plan at
creation was vegetarianism, not violence against other living beings. And from
the Scriptures, we know that this is how it will be when Christ returns to set everything
to the way it should be.
The question for us now is: How do we live as peaceful rulers of
creation? We know that God gave us permission to eat the animals after the
Flood, but does that mean that we need to? Can we decide to live in the way we
were meant to and will again someday?
If we do decide to eat meat, can we, at least, ensure that our
animals are treated fairly in life and killed humanely in death? We might have
to pay a little more for free-range chickens and eggs or to cover the expenses
of certain butchering methods, but isn’t that part of ruling creation in
the way God intended?
Can we ensure that we don’t ruin the earth with pollution or needlessly
destroy habitats for the sake of making more money? God has given us the wisdom
to rule fairly and to come up with ideas that don’t abuse the world or the
creatures that He’s made.
God has called us to rule justly and with compassion, as He does.
What can you do to help humanity rule creation in a godly manner?
