#8: Vegetarians

Genesis 1:28-31

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

Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.

Comments

The Hebrew words translated as “subdue” and “rule over” are not nearly as dominant as most translations suggest. One version of the Bible, The Message, translates these words as “take charge” and “be responsible for.” I think that captures the intent a bit better.

Perhaps what is most notable about this passage from Genesis is that it describes a world in which humans and all other creatures were vegetarians, and concludes by saying that such a world was very good.

Science pictures a very different world with “nature red in tooth and claw,” a world in which only the strong survive by killing (and often eating) the weaker.

The worldview of science is essentially competitive: in order for someone to win, someone else has to lose. Within such a world, fear is the norm.

The worldview of faith is essentially complementarian: if we care for one another, we all come out ahead in the end. Within such a world, love is the norm.

Science may offer a better description of our world as it is, but faith offers a picture of the world as God wants it to be in the “already but not yet” of God’s kingdom.

Reflections

How competitive are you? Must you win at everything you do and at all costs? How well do you treat those against whom you compete?

There is no better way to express your love for God than to care for those who are weaker rather than seeking to dominate them. What could you do today to love God in this way?

Prayer

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who created a world in which peace would be a way of life.