Genesis 1:28

Genesis 1:28

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

Okay, I'm going to enter some controversial territory here. I do not believe that the first part of this commandment is for us. To "Be fruitful and increase in number." Notice the reason for it. To "fill the earth and subdue it." Now I would have to look up the word subdue to get the exact definition, but the earth in quite full! I don't know if anyone's noticed this lately. Why do you think we've had so many problems feeding people and the earth has had so much difficulty in producing enough food and enough jobs for everyone may be because it is overflowing with people! Now, I am not suggesting that no one should have children or that we should kill any people for a population control solution. I'm just telling you that you don't need to feel pressure to have a bunch of children because of this command. Look at the context. He's talking to Adam and Eve. If they did not have children we would be in big trouble. We wouldn't even exist! He only gives this command one other time in scripture, and that just happens to be to Noah and his family after the flood, when they're the only humans left on the earth. Again, if they did not have children we would not be here! Anybody else noticing a pattern here? Now, each of you as couples may have personal convictions about how many children you should have, but don't put that on anyone else! I think at this point it is an individual choice how many children you should have. Okay, now that I'm off that soapbox, I'm about to get on another one.

"Rule over". We are to rule over the other creatures that God created. Do we have more rights than they do? Yes, we do. Period. We are to control the population of the animals and be sure that we do not get over run with them. We need to be responsible about it, of course. We need to treat them with respect and not kill them all off, as well.