On a recent drive to work I stopped at a traffic light behind this silver jeep adorned in all sorts of bumper stickers. One in particular caught my eye: THE EARTH DOES NOT BELONG TO US, WE BELONG TO THE EARTH and beside the text was a sketch of Jesus.
Really now, this has become a popular way of thinking of the Earth. It seems that the 1960’s have not fully been dispensed with. Let’s see what Scripture says about the Earth.
Who does the earth belong to?
The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. -Psalm 24:1
Who does the earth belong to? It was a gift to mankind.
And God said, “Let us make man in our image… and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing upon the earth.” -Genesis 1:26
Amazing how that bumper sticker reverses everything. First off, it is true the earth does not belong to us, but we are masters of it. Secondly, we do not belong to the earth. We belong to the Lord God and He has given us dominion over the Earth. This is an important distinction. The earth and its resources are a blessing given us by God. We are certainly responsible for being good stewards of that gift, but we have no mother earth.
Question for you: What are some of the other false views society puts forth concerning this topic? How do you view the Earth?
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