2. “The earth is the Lord’s,
and all its fullness, the
world and those who dwell
therein” (Psalm 24:1)
Everything is God’s; the Earth
and its wealth, the
vegetation, the animals, us
and everything we “own”.
By His grace, God allows us to
administer what is His. We
are GOD’S STEWARDS.
1. Stewards of the
environment.
2. Stewards of health.
3. Stewards of possessions
and gifts.
“And of His fullness we
have all received, and
grace for grace” (John 1:16)
3. When God created the man,
what did He make Him steward
of? (Genesis 1:26)
“You have made him to have
dominion over the works of Your
hands; You have put all things under
his feet, All sheep and oxen—even
the beasts of the field, the birds of
the air, and the fish of the sea that
pass through the paths of the seas”
(Psalm 8:6-8)
“After the earth with its teeming animal and vegetable life had
been called into existence, man, the crowning work of the Creator,
and the one for whom the beautiful earth had been fitted up, was
brought upon the stage of action. To him was given dominion over
all that his eye could behold; for “God said, Let Us make man in
Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion over
...all the earth.... So God created man in His own image; ...male and
female created He them.” Genesis 1:26, 27”
E.G.W. (Patriarchs and Prophets, cp. 2, pg. 44)
4. “Here is clearly set forth the origin of the
human race; and the divine record is so
plainly stated that there is no occasion
for erroneous conclusions. God created
man in His own image. Here is no mystery.
There is no ground for the supposition
that man was evolved by slow degrees of
development from the lower forms of
animal or vegetable life. Such teaching
lowers the great work of the Creator to the
level of man’s narrow, earthly conceptions.
Men are so intent upon excluding God from the sovereignty of the universe
that they degrade man and defraud him of the dignity of his origin. He who
set the starry worlds on high and tinted with delicate skill the flowers of the
field, who filled the earth and the heavens with the wonders of His power,
when He came to crown His glorious work, to place one in the midst to
stand as ruler of the fair earth, did not fail to create a being worthy of the
hand that gave him life. The genealogy of our race, as given by inspiration,
traces back its origin, not to a line of developing germs, mollusks, and
quadrupeds, but to the great Creator. Though formed from the dust, Adam
was “the son of God.” Luke 3:38” E.G.W. (Patriarchs and Prophets, cp. 2, pg. 44)
5. As stewards, how should our relationship with animals be alike?
We must be kind-hearted to
them.
• “If you see the donkey of one
who hates you lying under its
burden, and you would refrain
from helping it, you shall surely
help him with it” (Ex. 23:5)
We must care about feeding
those animals we are in
contact with.
• “You shall not muzzle an ox while
it treads out the grain” (Dt. 25:4)
But we must not forget that the life of the animals is less
worthy than the life of human beings for God.
That is why God allowed man to kill animals for diverse
reasons,
For dressing: Genesis 3:21.
For sacrificing (until Jesus’ death): Exodus 29:38.
For feeding: Leviticus 11:3.
We must not be cruel to them.
• “A righteous man regards the life
of his animal, but the tender
mercies of the wicked are cruel”
(Pr. 12:10)
6. How does Sabbath help us in
being better stewards of the
Creation?
E.G.W. (Patriarchs and Prophets, cp. 2, pg. 48)
“God designs that the Sabbath shall direct
the minds of men to the contemplation of
His created works. Nature speaks to their
senses, declaring that there is a living God,
the Creator, the Supreme Ruler of all. “The
heavens declare the glory of God; and the
firmament showeth His handiwork. Day
unto day uttereth speech, and night unto
night showeth knowledge.” Psalm 19:1, 2.
The beauty that clothes the earth is token
of God’s love. We may behold it in the
everlasting hills, in the lofty trees, in the
opening buds and the delicate flowers. All
speak to us of God. The Sabbath, ever
pointing to Him who made them all, bids
men open the great book of nature and
trace therein the wisdom, the power, and
the love of the Creator”
7. How are we responsible for taking care of our bodies
before God? (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
“The importance of caring for the health
should be taught as a Bible requirement.
Perfect obedience to God’s commands
calls for conformity to the laws of the
being. The science of education includes
as full a knowledge of physiology as can
be obtained. No one can properly
understand his obligations to God unless
he understands clearly his obligations to
himself as God’s property. He who
remains in sinful ignorance of the laws of
life and health, or who willfully violates
these laws, sins against God”
E.G.W. (Counsels to parents, teachers and students, cp. 40
“Health and efficiency”, pg. 295)
8. Read the verses we used before (Psalm 24:1; John 1:16) and compare them to
the parable of the talents that Jesus told (Matthew 25:14-30)
What can you learn about being steward of
the possessions and gifts God gives us?
9. “The Creator of all things, He is the original
proprietor. We are His stewards. All that we
have is a trust from Him, to be used according
to His direction.
This is an obligation that rests upon every
human being. It has to do with the whole
sphere of human activity. Whether we
recognize it or not, we are stewards, supplied
from God with talents and facilities and placed
in the world to do a work appointed by Him.
Money is not ours; houses and grounds, pictures and furniture, garments and
luxuries, do not belong to us. We are pilgrims, we are strangers. We have only a
grant of those things that are necessary for health and life.... Our temporal
blessings are given us in trust, to prove whether we can be entrusted with
eternal riches. If we endure the proving of God, then we shall receive that
purchased possession which is to be our own—glory, honor, and immortality”
E.G.W. (The Adventist Home, cp. 60 “Stewards of God”, pg. 367)
10. God gave Adam and Eve control over the whole creation, but that was not
an unlimited control. The human control was limited so they could not do
anything they wanted to; the prohibited fruit is an example of that. In
addition, humanity was placed at Eden to serve and to protect the Garden,
not to exploit it and destroy it.
“The nations were
angry, and Your wrath has
come, and the time of the
dead, that they should be
judged, and that You
should reward Your
servants the prophets and
the saints, and those who
fear Your name, small and
great, and should destroy
those who destroy the
earth” (Revelation 11:18)
Finally, we must consider
this, why should we care
about the environment if
Jesus is coming back
soon?
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