Hands and Feet!

SoH chenmoH ghaH ruler Dung the vum vo' lIj ghopDu'. SoH ghaj lan Hoch Dochmey bIng Daj qamDu'

You make him ruler over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his feet Psalm 8:6

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I think there's an interesting contrast here in this verse that names two parts of the body. The first is hand - yad, in Hebrew, or ghop in Klingon. The hand is symbolic of much, in this case the creative power of the Almighty, much as the word "finger" was used earlier. It is a reminder that God acts in creation, deliberately, like an artist or craftsman.

The second is the word foot - regel in Hebrew, and qam in Klingon. The foot can refer to much, from the power of movement, to (as it is here) the complete dominion over another, particularly an adversary.

It would be easy to read these words as a transfer of power - a hand-off if you will. The work of God's hands (vum vo' lIj ghopDu') is placed beneath humanity's feet ( Hoch Dochmey bIng Daj qamDu'). That is part of the story - but not the whole.

I think we need to be careful when we consider this - particularly if we're thinking in a militarisitic, overly-Klingon fashion. From ancient times the image of triumph over an enemy included the victor standing with a foot on the neck of the vanguished - a practice we even see mentioned in the book of Joshua.

Better than seeing nature as conquered, I like one writer's [Spurgeon] comment "The proper place for all worldly things, [is] under his feet," that is, we are not tempted to worship nature.

The problem arises if this dominion over creation becomes a justification for carte blanche consumption - as if we are free to use, and misuse the bounties of nature. More than one writer has happily blamed ecological disasters on believers misuse of nature, suggesting "superior, contemptuous" attitudes that make them "willing to use it [the earth] for our slightest whim." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_White)

That's why we need to understand that our relationship to creation should instead be one of stewardship - taking God's gifts and using them well - but not wasting them, as Peter notes in the Bible:

According as each has received a gift, be ministering it among yourselves, as good stewards of the grace of God in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10

It's worth remembering Jesus's words in John 3:16, that begin - "For God so loved the world...." That "world" is the Greek world Kosmos, creation - not just people, but the whole of what God has created. If this is so, and as this Psalm says, it has been given into our care, we should TAKE care to tend it well, not simply use up.

SoH chenmoH ghaH ruler Dung the vum vo' lIj ghopDu'. SoH ghaj lan Hoch Dochmey bIng Daj qamDu'

You make him ruler over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his feet Psalm 8:6

This world before us is rich, and beautiful - and it's been given to us mere humans to manage with care. Let's strive to hear the words "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."