Lesson 2, July 5: Boundaries

Tuesday July 5

Boundaries

Does humanity’s dominion over “all the earth” (Gen. 1:26) indicate that there are no boundaries to our dominion? Biblical history indicates that dominion (which can also be understood as “stewardship”) must have boundaries.

For example, God told Adam that the tree of knowledge of good and evil was off-limits (see Gen. 2:15–17). The first sin was, then, in the context of stewardship. Adam and Eve overstepped the boundaries that God had set on their dominion. Creation is still suffering from that overstepping of boundaries (see Rom. 8:20–22).

Read Exodus 20:1–17. What kinds of “boundaries” are set there for us in God’s law? What does the law tell us about the limits of human dominion?

Throughout human history (for example, Pharaoh in Exodus 1–14; Herod in Matthew 2) to the end of time (see Revelation 13), domineering people controlled by Satan are notorious for attempting to dominate that over which they have no rightful control. They imitate Satan, who seized power and made himself “the prince of this world” (John 12:31). Dominion gone awry becomes domination.

On the other hand, there are those who refuse to accept control of that over which they need to have dominion (see Matt. 25:14–30, Luke 19:12–27).

Even though sin caused humanity to lose the level of dominion given at Creation, our original dominion was not entirely lost because of sin. There is plenty that is within our current boundaries of responsibility: for example, Christ-enabled self-mastery in our personal lives (see 1 Cor. 9:25–27; Gal. 5:22, 23), and the care of the earth and its creatures and of all that has been given to us by God (seeJames 1:17, Matt. 25:14–30). We need, as Christians, to understand what our boundaries are and then work to be faithful stewards within those boundaries.

What are some specific boundaries that you need to respect in regard to others, such as family, friends, coworkers? What principles can we use to help us know what those boundaries are (see, for instance,Matt. 7:1, 12)?

Wednesday July 6

Care of the Earth

“Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it” (Gen. 2:15, NKJV).

What principles, if any, can we take from this text that should influence how we relate to our planet in terms of taking care of it?

Before sin, Adam and Eve had been delegated stewardship over all that God had entrusted to them. They had mastery over plant and animal life. Yet, after sin, all of nature seemed to rebel against them to the same extent that they had rebelled against God. Human beings began to see themselves as powerless in the face of the elements (weather, agriculture, the animal kingdom).

“Among the lower creatures Adam had stood as king, and so long as he remained loyal to God, all nature acknowledged his rule; but when he transgressed, this dominion was forfeited. The spirit of rebellion, to which he himself had given entrance, extended throughout the animal creation. Thus not only the life of man, but the nature of the beasts, the trees of the forest, the grass of the field, the very air he breathed, all told the sad lesson of the knowledge of evil.”—Ellen G. White, Education, pp. 26, 27.

Today we are still ravaged by natural disasters and our deteriorating ecosystem, at least in some places. Thus, we make great efforts to use technology and industry to protect ourselves. However, though technology and industry may help us protect ourselves, sometimes the same technology can damage our planet. Ecology is a moral, ethical, and theological issue, especially when exploitation of the earth can lead to great hardship for others.

“Seventh-day Adventists advocate a simple, wholesome lifestyle, where people do not step on the treadmill of unbridled consumerism, goods-getting, and production of waste. We call for respect of creation, restraint in the use of the world’s resources, reevaluation of one’s needs, and reaffirmation of the dignity of created life.”—In “Official Statement of the Seventh-day Adventist Church on Environment,” 1995.

How do we strike the right balance in our attitude toward the earth: being good stewards of the home we have been given while at the same time avoiding the danger of making the earth and the environment gods whom we all but worship? What warning might Romans 1:25 have for us here?

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