Heal Our World (Pt. 2)
What does it mean to rule well?
When I think about how we are supposed to care for creation—contrary to this administration’s policies, and much of American history—my mind naturally goes to how God established our relationship with the rest of nature. After making all sorts of truly awesome things, God came to the creation of humanity. He was very clear about how we should relate with the rest of what he made:
“Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
While many have said much about how we should interpret this passage, a quick comparative study reveals a consensus: humanity is supposed to exert some kind of control over the rest of creation. Whether ruling, or having dominion, or stewarding: all the interpretations of the language in this passage point to this same truth.
The trouble, though, comes in how we have chosen to live out this rulership, especially in America.
As discussed previously, the Trump administration seems interested in embracing a mentality of aggressive extraction when it comes to our natural resources. President Trump made this clear from the jump, with his declaration that we will “Drill, baby drill” during his second inauguration speech. His administration’s more recent policies only serve to emphasize this intent: America will take what we think we need from creation and we’ll simply pretend the consequences can’t hurt anyone. In short: we’ll take what we want, then lie to ourselves to feel better about it.
To be clear, President Trump’s policies are far from trailblazing. Throughout American history, we have demonstrated a willingness to commit profoundly ungodly acts in the name of taking what we supposedly needed from creation. The clearest example of this comes through our exploitation of North America’s indigenous population. The United States persistently violated treaties with indigenous tribes in order to acquire their land so that we might extract resources from it. We even revoked the reservation land we eventually provided these tribes—in some cases terminating their tribal status altogether—when we discovered useful resources on (or under) the otherwise unlivable plots we had promised to the same peoples we first displaced. The United States spent the better part of the 19th and 20th centuries removing, exploiting, and even killing indigenous peoples so that we might carry out the American version of “ruling” over creation.
In case it’s not obvious: this is not what God had in mind.
We can be sure of this when we consider our example of what a ruler should look like: Jesus Christ. Scripture describes our Lord—who will eternally rule over all of creation when things are as they should be—as gentle to the point of not even breaking a bruised reed. Further, the gospels show that Jesus lived on only what was necessary; his day-to-day life seems to most closely resemble those of Americans experiencing homelessness. Most importantly, Scripture shows us that Jesus is committed to justice: he did not and will not tolerate those who would take what is not theirs to serve their own means. In short: our model of rulership is entirely opposed to America’s greedy, exploitative, extractive approach to creation. Jesus would not “drill, baby drill,” and if our nation were committed to following him, we wouldn’t either.
God established creation so that humans might rule over it, but we don’t get to rule our way. In our relationship with creation—as in all things—the people of God are expected to follow the example of Jesus. Predictably, our Lord calls us to live very differently than our nation.
In the next post, we’ll explore how this call isn’t just for us, but something we are expected to carry for generations to come.