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Wisdom for New Energy

LentEnergy, Sustainability and Fuel Justice Week 16 · Day 2

Scripture References

Read First

Old Testament

Genesis 1:26-31

²⁶ God said, “Let’s make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
²⁷ God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them.
²⁸ God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

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²⁹ God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food.
³⁰ To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;” and it was so.
³¹ God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.

New Testament

Luke 16:10-12

¹⁰ He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much. He who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
¹¹ If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
¹² If you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?

Thought for the Day

Genesis gives humanity a place of honour and a place of limits. Made in God’s image, we are told to fill and to rule, to tend and to name. Yet we are also told that the world is “very good” before we have built anything at all. Our task is not to improve creation by domination, but to cultivate it in a way that honours the Maker.

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Jesus’ parable in Luke presses the same question into daily practice: if you are faithful in little, you can be trusted with much. If you are careless with what is another’s, why would you be given what is your own? In other words, the future is shaped by habits.

New energy and new technologies can tempt us into impatience: quick wins, heroic promises, easy moral certainty. Scripture invites a slower wisdom: faithfulness in small stewardship, honesty about trade-offs, and an attention to who bears the costs.

Lord, give us imagination without arrogance. Teach us to be faithful with what is already in our hands: the money we spend, the waste we produce, the neighbours we affect. And as our societies innovate, grant humility and truthfulness, so that progress does not become another way of neglecting the poor.

Prayer Points

Respond

Creator God, teach us to rule as stewards, not as owners; with humility and restraint
Give wisdom to researchers, engineers, planners, and leaders; that truth and patience would guide innovation
Protect communities most exposed to pollution, instability, or exploitation; let costs not be dumped on the vulnerable

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Make us faithful in small things: in our habits, consumption, and neighbourly care
Guard public debate from cynicism and hype; give speech that is honest, measured, and hopeful
Let our common life reflect your goodness; and keep the poor from carrying avoidable burdens

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