What Is Environmental Stewardship?

One of the themes of this blog is environmental stewardship. In this context, stewardship is the theological belief that the Creator of the world has entrusted the Earth, and her gifts and resources, to humanity with the admonition that we look after the Earth and take care of her. Religious people who believe they have an environmental stewardship are motivated to reduce their impact on the Earth so that God will be pleased with how they have taken care of her. (If you are not religious, perhaps encouraging your believing friends to embrace this stewardship is a way to save the planet too.)

Unfortunately, the same scriptural texts that motivate some to be more conscious about their actions in relation to the environment are often used by others to justify their apathy or, even worse, their blatant, violent rape of the Earth in pursuit of money and unbridled consumerism. Whether or not we are believers, each of us could benefit from humbly examining our meta-narratives (the stories we tell ourselves) to see if we are in fact doing more harm to the Earth than we intend to.

Scripture Lesson

In Utah, the predominant religion is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is a restorationist Christian religion that uniquely blends aspects of the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible with new scripture as found in the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. As I am a member of this church, I'm most familiar with its theology and practice, so my commentary on the scriptures referenced below will reflect my understanding of the general LDS paradigm. Some Latter-day Saints may not interpret these scriptures the same way. Also, interpretations of the scriptures from the Bible may be similar to the thought of other Christian religions.

Humans: the End of Creation?

Let's begin with a paradigm that all the Judeo-Christian religions I'm aware of share: the anthropocentric view that human beings were the supreme end goal of God's creation, that the purpose of the earth coming into existence was to provide a habitable place for human beings to live. Genesis 1:27–28 says:

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

The words "subdue" and "dominion" here have justified a host of abuses over the span of millennia, but in particular, since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The mindset seems to be: the interests of human beings take absolute precedence over the needs and interests of all other life forms. Even if you define "subdue" and "dominion" with their respective primary meanings, do you think God meant for human beings to destroy the very ecosystems that make the world habitable? Do human interests justify the human-caused extinction of thousands of species?

Contrast the instruction to "subdue" and "have dominion over" with God's command to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to "dress it and to keep it" (Genesis 2:15). In the Garden, Adam and Eve and the other animals were herbivores (cf. Genesis 1:29–30), and they were to take care of the Garden, to live in harmony with it. Even if we as a species have lost the innocence of the Garden, can we not aspire to live more in harmony with God's creations?

Would God want the species He endowed with reason, thereby distinguishing them from the other animals, to be the literal end of all creation? I doubt it. Yet, that's what we're doing to ourselves and all life on the planet.

"Enough and to Spare"

Another Latter-day Saint scripture that is often quoted out of context by some to justify a human-entitled approach to the Earth is found in Doctrine and Covenants 104:17, where it says:

For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yeah, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves. (Emphasis mine.)

Some insist that the Earth's resources will never run out as long as human beings need them, and that those resources are there for the taking without wisdom or restraint. The irony of this conclusion is that the scripture verses preceding this statement speak specifically of the Saints' (and, by extension, humanity's) stewardship over the Earth's resources and our accountability to God for how we use them, with the stated ultimate goal being to alleviate the inequality between the poor and the rich.

Note that the second part of that verse speaks of agency: the freedom to choose the actions we take. Are we living up to God's trust in us to use our agency for good if we consume resources like there's no tomorrow, thereby perpetuating the inequalities between developed and developing countries, and then present a depleted, exhausted, wasted, paved over, homogeneous Earth to the Lord as the fruits of our stewardship?

Christ's Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14–30 gives a model indicating that we should improve what we've been entrusted with, not destroy it. Is there not a way to live sustainably with the Earth and still enjoy many of the conveniences of modern life? And sustainably share those privileges and conveniences with less developed countries?

Our Earthly Stewardship

Every April and October, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a worldwide General Conference where members of the Church listen to gospel instruction from their leaders. The conference weekend has five sessions with several talks (think sermons) each. Often the content of these talks will be quoted from in regular church meeting talks over the six months following a particular conference. In the October 2022 General Conference, Bishop Gérald Caussé gave a talk titled "Our Earthly Stewardship" that, at least in my area, I have yet to hear quoted from.

In it, Bishop Caussé gives three principles regarding our earthly stewardship:

• The entire earth, including all life thereon, belongs to God.
• As stewards of God’s creations, we have a duty to honor and care for them.
• We are invited to participate in the work of creation.

Whether you're a believer or not, the entire talk is worth reading and pondering about. I'll close with this quote that speaks to principle two:

President Russell M. Nelson once remarked: “As beneficiaries of the divine Creation, what shall we do? We should care for the earth, be wise stewards over it, and preserve it for future generations.”

There are many things that we can do—collectively and individually—to be good stewards. Considering our individual circumstances, each of us can use the bountiful resources of the earth more reverently and prudently. We can support community efforts to care for the earth. We can adopt personal lifestyles and behaviors that respect God’s creations and make our own living spaces tidier, more beautiful, and more inspirational. (Emphasis mine.)

What does your earthly stewardship look like?