Head Hunters of Borneo

Idyllwild is an artsy kind of town. There are eleven art galleries.  There are gift shoppes with an emphasis on New Age and magic. So I was not surprised when I caught snatches of conversations at the local coffee emporium. “Head Hunter of Borneo ...”; “He was raised in the Belgian Congo ..”; and “You have to understand that Shamans ...”

I was curious, so when talk turned to a seminar about living a more sustainable life I asked where it was. While the seminar was too far away to attend, it gave me an opportunity to talk. I mentioned that I was blogging on related issues from a Christian perspective. Someone earlier had mentioned fighting the “system” so I summarized my blog this way: I talk about how Christians need to leave the system which the Bible calls Babylon the Great. He asked me about this scripture:

Genesis 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” 

Of course he did not know the exact scripture. He asked me if Christians wanted “dominion.” This is a popular jargon word among certain Christians. My answer was that if I had dominion over my living room, I did not dump trash there. He understood. 

We both left satisfied with the conversation, we had emphasized our areas of agreement not where we disagreed. This was a good lesson for me as I usually do not do this. 

This conversation got me to thinking as my family and I walked home. Were there things I needed to “take dominion” over? Do I need to empty the trash, or trim the bushes? What do you need to do to be a good steward over what God has given you? If we want more physical things, or more importantly more spiritual things, should we not first take care of what we have? In one of Jesus parables he told us what happens if we are good stewards:

Mat 25:23  “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’”

Aren’t these the words any Christian longs to hear?