Praise belongs to the King (Photo credit: kelsey_lovefusionphoto)

I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. – Psalm 34:1

It would be easy to dismiss these old hymns as outdated and irrelevant because those who wrote them saw “God” as Zeus-god, a man writ large, “king of the world.” But if we understand God – Theos – as the Divinity within and beyond everything, then we can look at this excerpt differently.

If we see the immanence of God in everything, then our call to stewardship of Creation should indeed cause us to “bless” and to “praise” Creation. Not with empty prayers or pious pronouncements, but with every action we take, every decision we make.

We can choose to exploit the world around us, and in effect “curse” God in the process.

Or, we can care for and nurture all parts of Creation; we can use its resources wisely and with compassion. We can bless and praise “the Lord” by becoming the Hands of God in Creation.