ANGEL 9 - Psalms 8:4-5

Before we focus in on verses four and five, let's pull back and examine them in context.  David contemplates man's littleness against the majesty and vastness of the heavens and asks himself why it is that God has poured out such attention and blessings upon us.

In David's mind, God's esteem shows up in four ways

1. God seems to pays attention to us.  He is "mindful" of man.
2. God "visits" us.  We'll come back to this one later.
3. God crowns man with "glory and honor."  I'm not certain from the context if David is thinking here of his own life experiences or whether he has something more generic in mind.
4. God has given man "dominion" over the work of His hands here on earth.

Dominion is not a popular concept in our current zeitgeist.  There are those who trace our current environmental crises back to this idea, believing that this very aspect of the Judeo-Christian tradition is directly responsible for all manner of environmental hubris.  As a historical proposition the accusation is problematic at best.  It also fails to take a close look at the rich and nuanced spectrum of Judeo-Christian thought on the topic, both ancient and modern.

In this blog this month we've been paying some attention to the Solomonic Cycle of stories in Kings and Chronicles.  By sheer coincidence perhaps, just such a nuanced commentary on the concept of dominion (political in this case) is offered here.  The lowest level of dominion, we might call it unrighteous dominion, is the attitude of the youthful Rehoboam and his immature peers in 1 Kings 12:8-15.  Dominion is by virtue of force and fear and domination.  Those you have dominion over are to be mastered, cowed and exploited.  The yoke of your rule lies heavy upon those you have dominion over.  This foolish approach led to a permanent rupture in the Davidic Kingdom in a matter of days. 

A somewhat wiser approach to dominion us urged upon Rehoboam by his father's old and seasoned advisors (1 Kings 12:1-7).  In order to get what you want from a stewardship, you must adopt a servant's approach.  Gentle words and actions, and a regard for the desires and feelings of those you have dominion over will establish a reciprocal relationship which will work to the benefit of the one holding the reigns in a stable, sustainable and long lasting manner.  Though much better than the first, the basic motivation of this second approach are still centered on the needs and wants of the ruler.

A third approach is that of the young and humble Solomon himself (1 Kings 2:7-12), who recognized the weight of the awesome responsibility that had been laid upon him and his own inability to meet that responsibility without divine guidance.  If Mormons approached environmental stewardship with Solomonic humility, praying for a "wise and an understanding heart" to "discern between good and bad," and asked for "understanding to discern judgment" I dare say our willingness to admit that we did not "know how to go out or come in" with our stewardships without divine help might actually bring the kind of wisdom that might attract the attention of even the world's Queen's of Sheba.

The writer of 1 Kings at least thought that the most spectacular results, even from a self centered perspective, could only be obtained by the spirit of humility, restraint and non-self-seeking demonstrated by Solomon at the outset of his reign.