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Saturday, July 01, 2006

Lording it over creation or just another creature?

Yesterday, a friend of mine mused about a feeling of disquiet in how we human beings might be presumptiously giving ourselves an exalted rank over the other creatures of creation. I think there's nothing wrong with assessing things objectively about the gifts that God has lavished upon us. However, things should be seen in the proper perspective, based on an honest, unbiased and reasoned assessment. His disquiet has more to do with what we do about that assessment. For example, should that prompt us to overreach our place in creation? Should we assume that, since we are the pinnacle of creation, the rest of creation is intrinsically worthless, expendible for whatever purposes we might see fit? The answer is no, but this has nothing to do with the fact that mankind is blessed above all creation. We are. Facts are facts. But being human means that we go beyond facts and may choose to do right or wrong with them.

So what should we do with this perspective of man elevated above the rest of creation? Psalm 8 describes it: we should be humbled and grateful.

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