1 O Lord , our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
4 what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortalsa that you care for them?
5 Yet you have made them a little lower than God,b
and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under their feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord , our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
[1]
Dear Lord,
Tell me, what is a person to do with the responsibility to “have dominion over the works of your hands”? How does stewardship work here?
I cannot slow down the population of human beings.
I cannot slow down the growing international demand for oil and all of its derivatives?
What difference does the difference that I can make really matter as megatons of pollutants are pumped into the atmosphere daily?
If I cut back on the use of the air conditioner in the summer and the furnace in the winter, does it really matter when billions of people are cranking crap into the environment?
I’ve read a page or two about global warming and climate change and I know that my understanding of the issues is rudimentary at best.
So, Lord, this is the best that I can do for now and I ask for your intensified guidance.
I’ll just do the best that I can.
Regardless of the competing technical analyses, I can not see that pumping pollutants into the air and burying garbage under the ground and dumping waste into the oceans are good things. So I’ll do my part to slow it down. I’ll take care of my little corner of the world as well as I can. And I’ll look for the political candidates who seem to care and seem to have the best plan available and they’ll get my votes. I’ll do my best not to leave to our grandchildren “Planet Garbage”.
How simple can this be? It is as simple as I. I’ll do the best I can with my little piece of earth and pray God to forgive me when I’m wrong.
God if there is more for me to do, show the way and grant the wisdom and courge to go with you.
Lord, a change of subject. I visited a lady in hospice care today. The pain medication is wonderful but it pushes her to sleep when she would like to be awake and it is clear that her time is short. And, I received a call from a daughter whose mother has entered hospice care. Her time is also short. Grant to each one the grace that she needs for this final part of the journey. Touch each with your Spirit and grant a glimpse of the heaven that is to come. And help the families as their beloved mothers and grandmothers and aunts and friends are ripped from them.
PERSONAL PRAYERS:
Ask God to help you with your stewardship of your own little part of this world.
Pray for those who need God’s help in special ways.
Name 5 things for which you are grateful and say “Thank you” to God.
In Christ’s name,
Amen.
a Heb ben adam, lit. son of man
b Or than the divine beings or angels: Heb elohim
[1] The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version. 1996, c1989. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
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