Observing the landscape today in Christianity, the idea of taking dominion is often viewed with skepticism, if not outright hostility. Some will say it is simply sinful to care about any earthly good. Others will concede some earthly good is appropriate, but not too much, and you must achieve it through pious means. This aversion to dominion by many conservative Christians is, in my opinion, the reason why many Christians were picked off by the woke, progressive agenda of the past decade.

Man’s nature is twofold – we are to be holy, and we are also to be skilled. We were made to pursue piety, but we are also made to take dominion. This is stated in both the creation mandate and the great commission. It must be stated as these two components, not one, because the way you pursue holiness is different (but not opposed) to how you take dominion. These components are related but distinct.

The Problem

Recently, over the past few generations, only piety has been taught to matter to Christians. We have not been taught to value dominion, despite its presence in scripture and implementation throughout church history. Amongst popular Christian teaching today, you might find a few who do acknowledge the importance of the concept of dominion, but they have reduced it down to a variant of pursuing holiness.

Defining the Two

So how do we define piety and dominion? And what are the differences in the pursuit of them and their ends? Piety is holiness, and how we pursue holiness is laid out in scripture and developed through church history. Things such as prayer, confession, repentance, the sacraments, knowing scripture, attending church and having fellowship with the saints, singing hymns, learning the creeds and confessions, being catechized, and other things along these lines. These are the things we prioritize as Christians to become holy, as God has commanded us. Now, God has also commanded us to take dominion of the Earth. He created it and put us here as vice-regents, or image-bearers, to steward it. It’s our job to develop wisdom and skills that lead to the cultivation of the earth. So, pursuing dominion looks like: pursuing excellence, acquiring skills, acquiring assets, being shrewd and discerning, having status, being healthy and strong, cultivating wisdom, and so on. These are not things people would typically classify as “Christian”, but they absolutely are. These represent dynamics related to one of the very first things instructed to us in scripture. 

How Do They Interact?

There are three important ways in which piety and dominion are different but complementary.

Equality and Inequality

Intention and Execution

Universal and Particular

Equality/Inequality

When it comes to pursuing piety, we recognize the equality amongst all believers. We are all equally made in the image of God, equally condemned in our sin, and equally saved by our Lord Jesus Christ. We all have an equal obligation to pursue holiness – whether you are rich or poor, young or old, male or female, healthy or sick, you are commanded to be holy. So there is much equality and commonness we find with each other as believers in Christ. 

However, when it comes to pursuing dominion, we find vast inequality amongst believers- but this is a good thing; it is by design. Your ego might be hurt when you realize someone else out there is way better than you at something. But then you realize this is a great thing. God has put that man there with those gifts to do a tremendous work and bless those around him. God has given us men with incredible talents, and they are meant to handle the weightiest of matters.

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