Every once in a while a Christian might hear about something called the Dominion Mandate.
This often happens during a sermon based on the first chapter of Genesis. And the mandate itself has to do with God’s call to rule and cultivate the world for Him.
Typically, people respond in one of three ways to this commission given by God.
The first response is what you might call ‘escapist.’
This refers to those who don’t want to take on the work and responsibility that exercising dominion involves… so they seek to escape it, in whatever way they can.
They even hide behind theologies that claim Jesus is going to come whisk them away at any time… so there is no need to labor for a better world.
The second response to God’s call to dominion is ‘abusive.’
Those who respond this way see the Dominion Mandate in selfish terms… and they seek to dominate and use others — instead of serve them.
Whereas ‘the escapist’ abandons his calling, ‘the abusive’ misuses his gifts and opportunities to push his own agenda. Often in a heavy-handed, domineering kind of way.
The third response to the Dominion Mandate is ‘faithful.’
Here we have those who view life as a stewardship.
They see that they’ve been entrusted by God with a certain amount of time, talents, and treasure… and they know they’ve been called to use what they’ve been given to advance God’s kingdom in this world.
Of course – on any given day – we can respond to God’s call to dominion in any one of these three ways.
But the ongoing challenge is to be consistently faithful… doing what we can to rule and cultivate the domain God puts under our care.
