Archive for March 3rd, 2007
On being in charge
“For you made us only a little lower than God, and you crowned us with glory and honor.
You put us in charge of everything you made, giving us authority over all things–
the sheep and the cattle and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
and everything that swims the ocean currents.” (Psalm 8:5-8 NLT)
I have found the commentary sections of the Confession of Faith are as illuminating as the confessions them selves. I quote from the second paragraph of the commentary (not including the scripture cited in the text) on “The Creation and Calling of Human Beings. “The rule of man over woman is a result of sin and is therefore not an acceptable order among the redeemed.” I had not considered that the “us/them” in this text was anything other than an equal and equitable reference to men and women. It does raise questions and concerns for me in light of some of the interpretations of Paul’s letters to the churches. But, not wanting to belabor the issue of gender issues, it also touches on issues of humane treatment of animals. And that reference is absent in a rather explicit way. At times the task of being “stewards to subdue” has been emphasized over the “care for creation.”
I am not saying the Anabaptist/Mennonite beliefs are dismissive of the need to be aware of ecological concerns and ethical treatment of animals. In a sense we are still learning how to wield the “authority” that we have been given over all things. I guess what stands out for me is this intermingling of relationships between men and women, and the relationship between humanity and that general category of “animals.” And furthermore, there seems to be this sense of “us” and “them,” whether it be gender, human/animal, races/cultures. Indeed, giving, man/humanity this control does seem that we are just a little lower than God.
The point to remember than is that if we are “second-in-command” over all things, then we have to apply the same care, love and compassion that God uses when he interacts with creation (which by the way, includes us). Remember too that God sent Christ to be sacrificed for creation. Therefore, as the redeemed, we need to be careful what we do with this authority.
