The Definition of Stewardship in Terms of Christianity and the Environment

Many people around the world have, relatively recently in the history of the world, started coming together to step up efforts for the conservation, preservation, and general care of the environment and nature. The people involved in this movement come from diverse regions of the world as well as diverse cultural backgrounds. However, a schism exists among those who care for the earth. This separation has evolved due to the distinctions between motivations of the individual groups involved in the movement. One of these groups interested in caring for the earth, or who at least should be, is the Christian community. This group has come under scrutiny from the rest of the environmentalist movement, though, because of those in the group who are not particularly inclined to tend to the condition of the earth. In fact, one could say a stereotype has been conceived that portrays Christians as a group who uses, abuses, and has no respect for what they view as the creation. This idea will be addressed later. Right now a concept that Christians should be known for will be introduced. Stewardship, while not always having been associated with either Christianity or the environment, should be and in many places has become Christians’ motivation behind sustaining and looking after nature.

In different contexts, stewardship can be defined in different ways. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines stewardship in broad terms. It states that stewardship is, “the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care.” This general definition allows for the concept of stewardship to be applied to specific areas. In this case, stewardship is “the careful and responsible management” of the environment. Using the dictionary’s definition, it is easy to see how Christians could have adopted the term “stewardship” to describe the relationship between humans and nature that they believe exists. The last phrase of Merriam-Webster’s definition, “something entrusted to one’s care,” reveals this. If that something is the environment than that means that the environment has been entrusted to mankind’s care. Furthermore, using this type of language implies that someone did the entrusting. Christians believe that that someone is obviously God.

Christians also use the Bible to support the idea of environmental stewardship. They refer to many verses that display the relationship between mankind and nature. One verse that does a great job in supporting the idea of stewardship is Genesis 2:15. The Bible says, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” Here, the comparison can be made between Genesis 2:15 and Merriam-Webster’s dictionary. The dictionary definition says “the careful and responsible management of something;” the Bible says man was to “work” and “keep” the garden or in other words manage the garden. The dictionary also says “something entrusted to one’s care;” the Bible states clearly that God “put man in the garden to work it and keep it,” so in a sense He was entrusting man with the upkeep of the garden.

Unfortunately, the Bible has also been interpreted by Christians to support the abuse of the earth and its natural resources. This can provide an example of something that stewardship does not allow for in its definition. The place where many Christians misinterpret the Bible is in Genesis 1:28. The verse, “And God said to them, ‘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 heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth’” is what far too many Christians use in order to say they have the right to do with creation what they want. They derive this concept mainly from the word “dominion.” Their interpretation suggests that humans can dominate over nature. This is not stewardship. Dominion in this verse does indeed portray mankind as above nature but only in the sense that humans are responsible for nature, not that they have control over it, which, basically, is exactly what stewardship claims to be. Some people may actually have problems with this idea because it still implies humans are above nature. In general, this is what must be true for stewardship to be applicable.

Another great way to display the meaning of stewardship is to show what it would look like for someone to apply the concept to their life. For example, many of the strategies considered to be environment friendly today could be a part of the “keeping” of the earth. Therefore, recycling and just generally cutting down one’s carbon footprint would be ways to be good stewards. Also things like habitat conservation and helping protect endangered species are essential to being good stewards. These are forms of stewardship that anyone can accomplish and do in their everyday life, and they are actions that are a part of Biblical principles for the kind of stewardship the Bible expects of us.

Sometime in history, Christians found their reason to care for the earth on which they live. They found it in their holy book, the Bible. They have defined what it is they need to be doing here on earth as far as the environment goes. They have described the responsibilities that God gave them for the earth. Many of them have put words into action and are taking steps to fulfill God’s vision for the world. They are managing carefully and responsibly the vast, beautiful earth that has been entrusted to them. Many faithful Christians are taking seriously the stewardship of God’s green earth.


Works Cited
Bible. New York: Collins' Clear-Type, 1965. Print.
"Christian Environmental Stewardship." The American Scientific Affiliation: Discussion of science and Christianity, ethics, apologetics, creation and evolution, the Bible and science. Web. 23 Feb. 2010. http://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/1994/PSCF6-94DeWitt.html
"stewardship." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2010.Merriam-Webster Online. 22 February 2010 http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stewardship