Day 20 - Dominion

Readings: Psalm 8:3-9 and 2 Timothy 3:14-17

When we hear the word, ‘dominion,’ what comes to mind? A kingdom? A home? A place where someone rules? The word, dominion, comes from the Latin, dominionem, meaning ownership. In the passage from Psalms today, we read that God has given humans “dominion” over the works of God’s hands.

The psalmist then mentions several aspects of nature, which is the context where we often think of dominion. We see in the creation story that God gave human beings “dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”

But in order for humans to have dominion, or ownership, over the creatures in God’s creation, human beings must work to care for every aspect of creation because, as scientists know all too well, every life cycle on this planet is integrally intertwined. We must take ownership for ALL the “works of [God’s] hands.”

And so this ‘ownership’ over the works of God’s hands is the definition of our work in God’s world. If we are being faithful to God’s plan in creating us, every work that we do must work toward taking ownership of God’s creation.

And so, what does it mean to own something? It means we take responsibility for it when it is broken. It means we rejoice in it when it experiences delight or success. It means we care for it, protecting it and encouraging it to thrive. It means we have power over it, and that power can be used to hurt or to heal.

We have been given power in God’s world. Power to do work that takes responsibility for God’s broken people, work that rejoices when the world thrives and good succeeds. We have been given power to care for one another and for creation, power to heal and to encourage growth.

And so in everything that we do, we are called to own God’s world through the work that we do in it. I knew a young man once who was seriously struggling with the work he did. He was excellent at his job, worked hard, and made a lot of money. But at the end of the day, he asked the question, ‘What is it that I really do? I make lots of money for other people, but what is the real purpose behind my work?” We may not all make lots of money for ourselves or for other people, but we are all called to ask – what is the purpose behind our work?

In the work that we do, are we remembering that our primary calling as people loved by God is to take ownership of God’s world? Are we remembering that as we strive to do this, we are “owning” something that truly belongs to someone else – someone much greater than we are – someone sovereign over everything.

Are we remembering that everything is owned by God? If God were in our shoes, doing our jobs, would God do them the same way? If what we do through our work is actually contributing to the greater destruction or hurt of the world instead of its greater healing, would God do what we do at all? Or, would God ask us to reconsider the tasks we do, going back to scripture, and becoming equipped, as 2 Timothy says, for God’s true, good work in the world?

Prayer:

Lord, is my work, Your work? Are my motivations, Your motivations? If so, let me find great joy in the work You have for me to do. If not, give me courage to ask You to teach me how rightly to own and work within Your world. Give me the courage to change and to follow the works of Your hands. Amen.

Putting Faith into Action:

Write down a list of tasks that you do in your occupational work and your work at home. Pray through this list one task at a time, asking God if the works that you are doing are the works of God’s hands. And finally, ask God if work has been omitted from your list that God would desire you to do.

Write a mission statement for yourself to hang on the wall in your workplace or home. Commit yourself to serving the work of God’s hands in all that you do, and leave it there as a reminder for days when that is a particularly challenging task.