"Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and every living thing that moves upon the earth." Genesis 1.28) The words 'subdue' and 'dominion' have been strangely misunderstood and wrongly interpreted.

Does that mean that we can use the natural world of living and non-living things just as we please ‑ extravagantly ‑ cruelty. Subdue is used by almost every translation and the thought contained in 'dominion' is fairly consistent. Cultivation of the soil and what grows in it, is subduing it. Harnessing natural resources, animal, plant and mineral for the well being of everyone and everything is having dominion over them but not selfishly. Animals and birds, plants and minerals are God's gifts and their use is part of our moral and spiritual development. The Earth is beautiful but we need to avoid mismanaged husbandry that upsets nature's balance.

One of the wonderful provisions that the Creator made against the entry of sin and rebellion into the world is the way living organisms cope with infection and injury. The restorative powers of nature overcome human dereliction. Many are now rediscovering the thrill of the wonders of this tiny planet.

The beloved carpenter of Nazareth said "My yoke is easy and my burden is light" and the hands that made yokes also handled an unbroken colt. He spoke of the flowers of the field and birds of the air ‑ that don't fall to the ground without the Heavenly Father.

"When I look at the heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which you have established …Thou has given him dominion over the works of thy hands, thou has put all things under his feet." (Psalm 8.3,6)

DN