Seen from space, the earth is beautiful, like a bright blue marble with white swirls encircling it amidst colors of brown, yellow, and green. It is amazing to think that we, as children of God, have been given loving dominion over it!
In Genesis, we read that God gave man “dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth” (1:26). This dominion is not about domination. It does not include a license to abuse or harm, but rather transcends manipulative control with peace and equanimity to appreciate and cherish all creation. We can look beyond the physical appearance of a bird, a fish, or anything on the earth and perceive the spiritual qualities it expresses. Exercising this dominion over our own thinking enables us to be a healing influence in the world.
When thinking about our environment and the call to action, on many fronts, to care for and protect it, it is comforting to know that we all have this precious gift of dominion and can therefore know how to wisely proceed in showing forth the blessings this God-given dominion can bring to the earth.
This dominion does not include a license to abuse or harm, but rather to appreciate and cherish all creation.
In the Christian Science textbook, Christian Science defines earth this way: “A sphere; a type of eternity and immortality, which are likewise without beginning or end.
“To material sense, earth is matter; to spiritual sense, it is a compound idea” (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 585). There are not two earths. Rather, this dual definition is really about perception—seeing the real, spiritual universe through spiritual sense right where a false, material sense of the universe and earth seems to be.
To see the earth as matter is fraught with misinterpretations, discords, and limitations, perpetuating a continual cycle of life and death—and a planet vulnerable to decline and death. On the other hand, seeing the earth as a compound spiritual idea of God, a type or example of eternity, opens up new and healing vistas reflective of God’s view of His glorious, perpetually unfolding creation.
Life, God, is forever sustaining, maintaining, and perpetuating its creation, its own self-expression. Since Life is All-in-all, there can be no destructive forces called toxins, viruses, pollution, or even so-called natural disasters, to break down life or to harm anything on the earth. Embracing our gift of dominion includes using spiritual sense—seeing our earth and all it includes as purely spiritual, eternal, and immortal, expressing intelligence, loveliness, and all the other qualities of the divine nature.
How we think of the earth—as either material and finite or as a compound idea expressive of eternity—does make a difference to the planet. Scientific studies show that our thoughts affect our environment, including plants, animals, and water. Dr. Konstantin G. Korotkov, a professor of biophysics at St. Petersburg State Technical University, says that when we think positive and negative thoughts, each have a different impact on our surrounding environment. This sentiment echoes Mrs. Eddy’s statement, “The atmosphere of mortal mind constitutes our mortal environment. What mortals hear, see, feel, taste, smell, constitutes their present earth and heaven. . .” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 86).
Our environment is really collective thought. So improving our environment starts with uplifting our thoughts about all life on earth, including our neighbors. The universal Love that is loving all of creation lifts off thoughts of doom, cold indifference, greed, and hatred that would pollute the collective atmosphere of thought.
The uplifting thoughts we need come from God, who sees everything He made as completely good, beautiful, loving, precious, immutable, and immortal. As children of God, our thoughts are naturally aligned with this Mind, God. Exercising our dominion over the earth by exercising dominion over our thinking includes demonstrating our God-given spiritual understanding of all things as not matter-based, as not harmful nor vulnerable to harm, but eternal, forever expressive of the one substance—Spirit, the Life that is God.
I have found these ideas practical in my own experience with the environment. At one point my family moved near a lake where there had been a yearly cycle in which a virus infected a certain species of fish and caused waves of dead fish to wash ashore. The first year we moved in I exercised my dominion in knowing that no harmful life form really exists. All life is expressive of its source, God, so it is not destructive or destructible. I knew that the purity of God’s creation includes nothing detrimental. So no creature of God could be infected or be a carrier of infection. The fish in the lake were never again infected by that virus. The pattern of that destructive yearly cycle had been broken.
Creatures of Love’s creation have divine natures and are not carnivorous, poisonous, invasive, or annoying, but rather harmless, purposeful, mutually beneficial, and enduring. Each has a right, necessary place in Love’s design. Discerning the true nature of Love’s creatures, I found harmony even with a woodchuck who had different plans for my garden than I did!
My garden had been selected to be featured in a neighborhood garden walk. As the event approached, I noticed that there were various flowers clipped off and strewn around. Soon I discovered a woodchuck was the source of the unwanted pruning. I thought about my dominion over every creeping thing and how Love has a right place for each of its ideas.
One day when I was walking down the ravine, I came face to face with the woodchuck standing on his haunches, a flower hanging out of his mouth. He stopped in his tracks as we made eye contact. I lovingly spoke to him of his divine nature, expressive of intelligence, right activity, and harmony—qualities in no way in conflict with the loveliness of the blooming flowers. I told him he was a cherished creature of our shared environment, appreciated all living things, and thus was in perfect harmony with all of nature.
As I felt a great sense of love for this creature, I saw him gently lean forward, carefully put down the flower, and graciously leave. That was the end of the destructive activity in my garden. When you see the identity of a creature as spiritual, you discern their innate expression of love. All of God’s creatures are expressive of God’s intelligence and love.
Dominion over the earth includes demonstrating our spiritual understanding of all things as not matter-based, not harmful nor vulnerable to harm, but forever expressive of the one substance—Spirit.
It is wonderful to realize that God is continually mothering the earth and all therein. This Mother-love provides everything required for all to flourish and be continually fruitful. The loving, divine intelligence of God guides all creation to be in perfect harmony eternally. This is the divine Mother Nature encompassing and sustaining all. Aligning with this spiritual understanding, we exercise our dominion in ways that bless the earth.
This spiritual view of dominion guides us into actions that honor the eternal nature of all the earth, whether it is cherishing all creatures, lovingly regarding our majestic forests and plants, tending to the purity of our atmosphere, maintaining fresh waters, or compassionately embracing all the peoples of the earth.
Blessings and progress are sure to abound as we do this. At the close of each day, as if with infinite arms, we can lovingly encircle the earth, even all creation, in one spiritual embrace, deeply cherishing each individual idea’s distinguishing eternal qualities, and rejoicing in the precious gift of dominion.
