The earth and its creatures are God’s servants in the divine economy.

Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast. By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants. Psalm 119.89-91

The overall design of God is to glorify Himself, that is, to make His presence known so that His goodness, beauty, truth, and blessings reach to all His creatures and a circle is completed in praise and thanksgiving to Him. God is continuously revealing Himself and His goodness in the things He has made (Ps. 19.1-4). He is determined not only that His glory should be revealed through His creation but that it should be known by human beings everywhere (Hab. 2.14; Prov. 25.2). All the creatures and things of creation are God’s “servants” toward that end. Human beings make proper use of the creation when they employ it for the blessings of the world and the glory and honor of God.

That this was God’s intention in giving the land of Canaan to Israel is clear throughout His Law. The pagan peoples of the land had, by their idolatry and other wickedness, forfeited the right to enjoy the benefits of the creation. They were to be ejected and replaced by Israel. God promised His people that He would cause the fields and skies and forests and hills to bring forth plentifully so that they might know His blessings. When this happened, God warned His people, they must not fail to glorify Him by remaining obedient to His Law, so that justice and love might obtain among them and be a witness to the surrounding nations of the greatness of God, as we have seen. Israel’s faithfulness in using the creation for God’s glory and abiding in His justice would draw the nations to seek the Lord and to glorify Him (Mic. 4.1-5).

Creation in all its parts fulfills its purpose when it is devoted to blessing men and honoring God. Blessing comes in more than material ways, such as providing beauty, provoking to wonder and worship, inspiring art and science, and granting insights to the divine being and will. Both of these larger ends – man’s blessing and God’s glory – must be considered in all our use of the environment, from the way we maintain our own property to the public policies we enact for the larger environmental concerns that affect all human beings and all creation. The creation is not ours, but God’s; its creatures are not our servants, but His. Thus we must be careful in all our use of the creation to approach it with the mind of Christ and use it for the purposes of God in blessing the world and glorifying the Creator.

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