Biblical Stewardship of the Earth

By Cade Shadowlight 

     - Between Shadows and Light.

I grew up on my grandfather’s farm, splitting my days between school, chores, and racing through the woods - sometimes alone, sometimes with friends - because that's all there was to do. And I loved it! I can still feel the mud between my toes. That rural South wilderness was my playground, my classroom, my everything.

It’s why I’ll always love nature - and why I can’t stand what the environmental movement’s become. Today’s environmentalism isn’t about saving nature; it’s carbon taxes, shuttered farms, and guilting kids into thinking they are a plague upon the Earth. My grandfather worked his farm because it was his - and that’s why he cared for it. Freedom and responsibility, not bureaucracy, drove him. 

I am embracing Biblical Stewardship of the Earth, where man is the gardener and caretaker of God's creation. I  still love nature. I still enjoy the outdoors. And we all need clean air, clean water, clean food, and plenty of open spaces.

Balance Between the Needs of Humans and Nature

Genesis 2:15 says God put man in Eden "to work it and watch over it" - to cultivate it for our use and guard it with care (the word is shâmar in Hebrew). Creation’s for us, yet valuable too. God doesn’t say pave it over or starve for it - He wants balance.

What does Biblical Stewardship look like? It puts human lives first (Genesis 1:28), while still recognizing the importance and value of nature (Genesis 1:31). It seeks to fulfill our role as caretaker, as given by God (Genesis 2:15), under His ownership (Psalm 24:1). It works towards balance between mankind and nature. It respects nature, while also protecting personal freedoms and property rights. 

The priorities of Biblical stewardship are simple and clear. Clean air. Clean water. Clean food. Open spaces for needs of wildlife and human recreation. And the protection of species and habitats.

What are the tactics needed to meet these priorities? 

• Agrarianism: putting agriculture at the heart of society, built on small businesses and local control of food and resources.
• Sustainable agriculture: permaculture, regenerative agriculture.
• Sustainable forestry.
• Energy efficiency.
• Small scale solar and wind, for home and farm.
• Urban and community gardens.
• Encourage backyard habitats.
• Protecting and restoring natural wild spaces: national and state parks, greenways, wildlife corridors, and especially mountain forests and wetlands.
• Protecting and restoring native species.

This isn’t pie-in-the-sky stuff. Clean water flows from regenerative farming - less runoff, healthier rivers. Clean air? Sustainable forestry and ocean protection keep the Earth breathing, boosted by efficient energy and small-scale solar or wind. Open spaces come alive with parks and greenways, room for deer and hikers alike. Clean food grows through agrarianism’s local roots, and biodiversity thrives when it all fits together.

God gave us this Earth to tend, not to trash or to worship. So plant a garden. Clean a creek. Teach your kids to love the woods like I did. That’s stewardship: quiet, faithful, free.

Scripture’s got plenty more to say—I’ll unpack it next time.

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Natural History (DK Definitive Visual Encyclopedias) is a "beautiful guide to Earth's wildlife and natural history, including its rocks, minerals, animals, plants, fungi, microorganisms and more!" I own this book and love it - beautiful and informative. The pictures below are of my copy. (Amazon link)