Best of 2020: The Responsibility of Stewardship - Geneva College
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Best of 2020: The Responsibility of Stewardship

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Biblical Wisdom Everyday Living Faith The College

With a deeper look into the various systems that sustain life on earth, one will come away with an awareness and appreciation for the world that God has designed. Like children who take for granted the good gifts they receive, the people of earth rarely take time to consider the complex systems that sustain their existence. Life is a precious gift from God that thrives within a small sphere loaded with magnificent expression of God’s love and care for those who dwell within its boundaries. 

According to the record of Holy Scripture, God created man and woman to govern His creation, cultivate its produce with excellence, and live of its bounty. Forming man from the very minerals of the earth, God intends to connect man’s physical existence with the environment from which he was brought forth. The trees that provide shade from the sun also supply men and women with the oxygen needed to breathe. Conversely, trees survive from the carbon dioxide that humans exhale. The symbiotic relationship between mankind and the environment is undeniable, and so is their awesome responsibility to maintain faithful stewardship of the earth. 

Stewardship, in this sense, is to ensure the well-being and perpetuation of God’s established structures. By maintaining a way of life that is conducive to the optimal performance of earth’s systems, men and women can faithfully steward creation and preserve its resources for future generations to enjoy. Some examples of stewardship include using materials that safely biodegrade, reducing waste through recycling and considering the environmental effect in developing inventions and infrastructure. With an appreciation for God’s handiwork, we can develop sustainable solutions that promote a thriving environment in which men and women can enjoy God and his creation.

Recently, environmental stewardship has become more of an issue in the minds of people. There is a push to encourage green building initiatives and improve air quality in densely populated cities. Local municipalities have implemented recycling of glass and metals. These are all good and responsible efforts that show we are appreciative and respectful of God’s creation. Imagine you owned a property and rented it out to tenants for a period of time. Upon move in, the tenants found the place clean and in perfect working order. As the owner of the property, it is your desire to see that the tenants regard the condition of the property and live in such a way that does not destroy the house. This is the mindset that we should adopt as tenants living on the earth. 

As the population increases, the destructive processes of modern inventions could have an exponential effect on the earth. In a world that has been impacted by sin, there is always more that can be done to ensure a mindset of good stewardship and redemption. It starts with educating people with sensible information. Researching and implementing new technologies that cooperate with earth’s systems like solar powered homes and cars is a sensible direction that will promote good stewardship. 

Geneva College offers a biblical perspective of stewardship in its degree program in environmental science, as well as in all other curriculum and activities. Find out more by visiting Geneva.edu/faith or contact our Admissions Counselors at 800-847-8255 or admissions@geneva.edu.

-Michael Duncan, ADP

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Originally published March 9, 2020
Photo by 
Kalen Emsley on Unsplash

Opinions expressed in the Geneva Blog are those of its contributors and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official position of the College. The Geneva Blog is a place for faculty and contributing writers to express points of view, academic insights, and contribute to national conversations to spark thought, conversation, and the pursuit of truth, in line with our philosophy as a Christian, liberal arts institution.

Jan 6, 2021

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