Stewardship and Creation

“…mankind’s God-given mission is set forth: “Let them have dominion over . . . all the earth” (Genesis 1:28). Respect and care for God’s creation is implicit in this dual extension of dominion and blessing. God has called us into being to bless the world, transfiguring it for communion with Him…“Our likeness to God requires our cooperation. We are to work with God

in bringing blessing to the created order…” (Dynamis 3/17/2021, Saint Diadochos of Photiki)

“It is also characteristic that when Scripture talks about the deviation, it does not use the terms ‘material’ or ‘bodily,’ but principally the term psychikos, which denotes a wrong use of material things or of the body as autonomous, and in general an opposition to the order of the spiritual-material creation. This tendency on man’s part to dominate creation in a way contrary to nature, expressed in his making its autonomous, has as a direct consequence man’s attempt to remove God from the world and confine Him to ‘heaven,’ to a realm ultimately alien and distant from that attainable in human experience. Thus the field remains open for man’s dominance in nature and more generally in history. Man interprets the world and subjugates it to his individual intellectual ability. The world, which is regarded as an object – as something lying outside man and over against him – is organized in a rationalistic way, with a view to serving the autonomy of human needs and desires.” (Anestis Keselopoulos)

“…besides blessing and praising God for the world, man is also able to reshape and alter the world, and so to endue it with fresh meaning…‘Man puts the seal of his understanding and of his intelligent work onto creation. The world is not only a gift, but a task for man.’ It is our calling to co-operate with God; we are, in St. Paul’s phrase, ‘fellow-workers with God’ (1 Cor 3:9). Man is not just a logical and eucharistic animal, but he is also a creative animal: the fact that man is in God’s image means that man is a creator after the image of God the Creator. This creative role he fulfils, not buy brute force, but through the clarity of his spiritual vision; his vocation is not to dominate and exploit nature, but to transfigure and hallow it.” (Fr. Dumitru Staniloae, Metropolitan Kallistos Ware)

“Being good stewards of our lives is certainly not an easy path. It is, however, the only way for us truly to offer ourselves to the One Who offered up Himself for the salvation of the world. Let us unite ourselves to Him as our Great High Priest by making each moment of our lives a point of entrance into the eternal liturgy of the Kingdom of Heaven. He will not reject us, but with infinitely humble love will accept even the tiny bit of interest that our small talents yield for the advancement of the Kingdom. Regardless of how pleased or disappointed we are about how things are going for us today, let us overcome our fears and invest ourselves in Him.” (Fr. Philip LeMasters)

“We don’t consecrate the world through perfect performance of rituals…but through perfect love. We receive God’s blessings in Church and then take that blessing into all the world. And Jesus said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15). Our life in the Liturgy is meant to be light to the world and the salt of the earth. It is not meant to remain in the Liturgy or in the church building, but to be carried into all the world (Matthew 5:13-14) and shared with all those in need.” (Fr. Ted Bobosh)

“The concept of stewardship permeates Scripture…As creatures who are able to alter and reshape the world, we are bound by the Creator to be good stewards.” (David Kinnaman, Abbot Tryphon)

“We were created to “rule” the earth, not in a tyrannical way, but rather as images of God. In other words, we are to govern the earth in love, to take care of the physical world that God has given to us.” (Clark Carlton)

“…the very existence of the universe depends on the creative power of God. The world we live in was created by God and belongs to Him. His absolute ownership requires our faithful stewardship of all things.” (Foundation Study Bible, Genesis 1:1)

“God has appointed us stewards over His creation, yet because of sin we do not exercise our stewardship as the Lord intends. Until we are healed, it is impossible for us to subdue without tyrannizing, crushing, or deforming the creatures with whom we share this earth. In the Hebrew account of creation, the principal meaning of subdue is “to form or to shape” (Gn 1:28). However, more often than not we damage, distort, and pollute when we apply our God-given capacities, for “professing to be wise,” our thinking is “futile” (Rom 1:22).” (OCPM 7/21/2017)

“…if we feel that our body is ours and that our life is ours, and we fit God into a compartment, then He is like a tenant. We don’t have a stake in Him. And even though He has a stake in us, it is hard to feel that when we are the owner and He is the tenant. When we see God as the owner of our body and the Lord of our life, then we see ourselves as tenants with the Lord as the over-arching landlord. Thus, we live for Him, and not for ourselves. And this is when we most acutely feel Him “with us.” (Fr. Stavros N. Akrotirianakis)

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