Stewardship (theology)

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Stewardship is a theological belief that humans are responsible for the world, humanity, and the gifts and resources that have been entrusted to us. Believers in stewardship are usually people who believe in one God who created the universe and all that is within it, also believing that they must take care of creation and look after it. Creation includes animals and the environment. Many religions and denominations have various degrees of support for environmental stewardship.^{[citation needed]} It can have political implications, such as in Christian democracy.

Many moderate and progressive Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and Evangelical Protestants see some form of environmentalism as a consequence of stewardship. In Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions, stewardship refers to the way time, talents, material possessions, or wealth are used or given for the service of God. Some pagan or secular views include a Gaia philosophy which accepts the Earth as a holy being or goddess. The Jewish holiday of Tu Bishvat, or "the New Year of the Trees" (Rosh Hashanah La-Ilanot"), is also known as Jewish Arbor Day. Some want to expand it to a more global environmental focus.^[1]

A biblical world view of stewardship can be consciously defined as: "Utilising and managing all resources God provides for the glory of God and the betterment of His creation."^[2] The central essence of biblical world view stewardship is managing everything God brings into the believer's life in a manner that honors God and impacts eternity. Stewardship begins and ends with the understanding of God's ownership of all:

• "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." (Revelation 22:13)
• "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." (Psalm 24:1)
• "To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it." (Deuteronomy 10:14)
• "The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants." (Leviticus 25:23)
• "Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me." (Job 41:11)

Stewardship is further supported and sustained theologically on the understanding of God's holiness as found in such verse as: Genesis 1:2,^[3] Psalm 104, Psalm 113, 1 Chronicles 29:10-20, Colossians 1:16, and Revelation 1:8. There is a strong link between stewardship and environmentalism. Environmental stewardship is typically thought of as entailing reducing human impacts into the natural world. Philosopher Neil Paul Cummins wrote that humans have a special stewardship role on the planet as those who, through their technology, can save life from otherwise certain elimination. This is a modern-day interpretation of Noah's Ark, the cornerstone of human stewardship being technological protection and regulation.^[4]