Redeeming Dominion

 Redeeming dominion in a fallen world

Now, I’m not a rabid environmentalist, so don’t hear me saying “dominion is all about how we treat the environment.” It involves how we interact with the world around us, but it’s more than that. Dominion touches every part of our being. And despite our fallen state, God has not removed the charge to rule over the earth from humanity. Therefore, we must consider how to use the authority God has given us to bring Him glory. Here are three suggestions loosely based on Genesis 1:28:

1. Consume responsibly. 

I have a confession: I hate recycling. I live in a townhouse complex that’s out of the 1970s, one without a recycling program and it’s great! Honestly, it’s not so much recycling as the propaganda surrounding it. While I’m skeptical that a styrofoam cup in a landfill will still exist in 15,000 years, I’m all for being responsible as a consumer. Don’t buy more than you need. Buy things that last. Just because you can be conspicuous in your consumption doesn’t mean you should be.

2. Work with excellence. 

While few of us are in positions of great authority, we are all responsible for carrying out the work we’ve been given with excellence. Do your work well, respect your employers, remembering that “your are serving the Lord Jesus Christ,” not men (Colossians 3:24).

3. Multiply spiritually and biologically. Some of you might cringe reading that, but looking at the context of God’s command to have dominion over the earth, it’s connected to our multiplying and filling the earth. While having children isn’t necessarily a mandate in the same way it was for Adam and Eve, having children is a way in which we can exercise dominion over the earth. We are bringing new life into the world. That’s a big deal.

Likewise, perhaps even more importantly, we need to be focused on spiritual multiplication. While biological multiplication is common to all humanity, only Christians can multiply spiritually. We have been given the role as Ambassadors of Jesus Christ with the responsibility of sharing the news of Jesus’ sin-defeating death and resurrection with the world. We are to make disciples of all nations. This is the greatest way in which we can exercise dominion over the earth in that we’re using the authority given to us by Christ for the express purpose of seeing the lost become found.

Those are some of the ways in which we can and should continue to exercise dominion in the fallen world as redeemed people. God has not removed this responsibility from us, so let’s make use of every opportunity we have to give Him glory.