Kings Of The Earth
How to Rule Your World with Purpose.
To be human is to rule.
That's a bold statement, I know.
I recently found an article on Business Insider about how some millennials are moving into middle management roles. Others are beginning to feel the weight of starting families, buying homes, and taking leadership roles in their families, communities, and other areas.
According to this article, it's scary to many of them, including yours truly, at times. People expect you to know stuff, take charge, and have the capacity to do it!
Many of us feel, whether a millennial or not, that we're simply incapable or not ready to take on life's challenges even as we're doing them!
There are a ton of memes out there about that and "adulting”.
An age-old question comes up: "Who am I? What am I even doing here? What is the purpose of humanity at all?"
You're a human being, and your job is to rule over nature.
Does it sound too simplistic or too grand? Reason with me a moment, my friend!
Let's take a look at some everyday truths:
We dominate nature: Humans can tame, domesticate, and train animals. Most animals instinctively fear or hesitate around people, even lions, bears, and alligators.
We govern and seek justice: Humans have laws, mandates, and nations. Animals don't hold elections, establish justice systems, or write constitutions. Even kids say, "That's not fair!"
We Innovate and Build: Humans shape civilizations, cultures, and technology. We name things, organize the world, and bring order out of chaos (or at least try to).
We Want to Explore: We want to venture into the unknown, whether it's outer space or just the other side of the backyard. No animal has dreamed of going to the moon.
We Have Language: Animals communicate but don't write books, sign contracts, or teach classes. No dog has ever published a self-help book.
We Rule Even When We Don't Feel Like It: Like it or not, someone is always looking to you for leadership—whether it's your kids, students, mentees, or the random kid in the grocery store who assumes you're an all-knowing sage just because you're taller than them.
So, even when you're mowing the yard, looking after kids, cleaning the house, working a 9-5, or a creative project, you're ruling somehow. You're bringing order out of chaos.
These are examples of work. Work is a form of management. Management is a form of rulership.
Taking one thing and turning it into another (ideally something better) or taking something messy and bringing it into order.
As I write this, I'm taking a blank page, putting words on it, and organizing it into thoughts.
We don't think much about it because we all do it instinctively.
Think about that for a second.
You are not just managing your life. You are ruling it. You are a king or a queen of the earth.
If you've read the Bible or studied ancient history, you've probably come across ancient rulers referred to as the image of god. They stood in the gap between the divine and humanity or creation. I wrote an article about this.
Ancient rulers represented the authority of the divine to the people of the earth through their rulership. In temples, courts, marketplaces, and other places where people live and work, there would be statues of them. So they would be constantly reminded of who they served.
In the Bible, humans are referred to this as well. However, it's a bit democratized. To be called the image of God means that humans have a mind, will, emotions, and creativity like God. Humans were placed on the earth to act as God's representatives to His creation through work!
Some bible scholars call this the dominion mandate given to Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:26-28.
The dominion mandate is a game-changer. It means a few things:
We need to recognize that all human beings have inherent value.
It's a call to mastery. Understanding the world around us and ourselves and how we can make BOTH better.
We need to be good stewards of the earth and act wisely.
We can now use these statements to evaluate our world and see that things aren't going well.
There's famine, war, disease, poverty, exploitation, evil leaders, environmental damage, abuse, pain, and suffering. I could go on and on.
The Bible points to a future where things are made right. People will live on a renewed Earth. They’ll do what they do best, surrounded by loved ones, and in perfect bodies. They’ll be ruling and reigning with Jesus. There will be no more sin, pain, or suffering.
We'll be as human as God has always wanted us to be. Doesn't that sound better than sitting on clouds strumming harps all day?
Like the creatures and people in the Chronicles Of Narnia, creation eagerly awaits to see who their kings and queens are! See Romans 8:19.
With great power comes great responsibility. We should seek to build up our world and each other with love. That's what it means to be human. That's what it means to rule!
Think about who you are in this context as you go about your day today. Look at yourself in the mirror, and be aware of your body as you move around. You are a marvelous work of divine engineering and regality!
Find your dominion and rule it!
This is my tenth article! I can’t believe it. Do you have a favorite one? Let me know in the comments or reply to this email!
Thanks to everyone who’s supported me this far. I really appreciate it!
Oh, and I’d love to know your thoughts on this one as well!
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Leadership is earned by doing hard things, overcoming them, and following great leaders. I was fortunate enough to serve in the military from ages 18-30, and that’s how I learned to lead. Others aren’t so fortunate but there’s always another way. God gives everybody an opportunity to become a leader.