Ten Theses on Intergenerational Stewardship - for those who don't live off the land
How to bring a blessing to our local communities
The Plough recently published one of the most densely saturated-with-wisdom articles I have ever read. Prince Michael zu Salm-Salm’s family in southern Germany has owned and stewarded the same area of land for centuries. Based on this intergenerational work and the lessons the land and its work have taught him, Salm-Salm has drawn up Ten Theses of Intergenerational Stewardship, applicable to anyone entrusted with land which they own.
However, very few of us own a substantial plot of the earth's surface. The land we can be said to “own” is limited to our back gardens (in my case a 10 x 5-metre plot of rented and sadly patio land), and for some of us, there is no land in the outside air that we can be said to own and steward. However, Salm-Salm’s theses are relevant for us all - landowners or not. The application may be different, but the principles are the same. As my friend Jacob Taylor pointed out, what is needed is for these theses to be applied to everyday life and this is what I will attempt to do. All of us have been entrusted with an area or neighbourhood in which we live, move, and have our being. This area may include a garden (or not), but it certainly includes a house, neighbours, local green spaces, and places of work, recreation, and worship. These are the communities, buildings, wild spaces, and people we have all been given responsibility over (even if we have only lived or will live briefly in these locations).
What follows are Salm-Salm’s original theses in bold, with my application to local communities under each.
We are only stewards and everyone has a part to play
No matter what we own: houses, tools, books, and heirlooms, everything is borrowed. While our dominant capitalistic societies emphasise private ownership, everything is in fact the Lord’s. What He entrusts to us we are to use well (both for the good of ourselves and the love of our neighbour), cherish, and protect. This is not only because they are His gifts to us but because one day He will require what is His from our hand and will require us to either pass on to the next generation, sell, or give to someone else in greater need than ourselves what we possess. Everything we have will one day become someone else’s. Recollection of this fact will help to promote in us the virtues of good stewardship.
However, all too often what we now possess is destined for the rubbish heap. One of the greatest tragedies of the modern age is the throwaway culture we have created. Instead of crafting and protecting heirlooms, and creating products which will serve future generations well, most of what we produce comes with “planned obsolescence” or by nature of its abundance, cheapness, and lack of aesthetic beauty is considered disposable. We need to rediscover again the virtues of master craftsmanship, and the fix-it mend-it mentality which served previous generations so well.
We must value each family member and learn family cohesion
(I am adapting this slightly to refer to communities and not just families).
Each member and resident bring unique skills, passions, joys, expertise, and stories to a community. Each person must be valued and respected by all other members - for no one is insignificant, and although opinions, values, and preferences may differ, such differences must be tolerated, accommodated, and even embraced if division and strife are to be warned off.
Every member has dignity and something to offer the community. Yes, there will be those with more influence and perhaps more to offer, but everyone can play their part. Opportunities need to be provided for those easily marginalised or forgotten to contribute to the community and thus feel a part of its membership. Such a community where everyone has a role and feels valued is healthy, vibrant, and resilient.
The ancestors set the example in appreciating and preserving our places, and our homes
Our ancestors may be gone, but their legacies live on. The very fact our communities still exist is a testament to their life work and their stewarding well what they had in this particular place. The elderly who remain often have been rooted in this place for many decades and know it intimately. They can remember the names, faces, and stories of former inhabitants who shaped the community and place into what it now is. They know the idiosyncrasies of the place and community that are necessary to understand in order to live well and convivially, and they have witnessed and endured cycles of boom and bust and thus have the necessary resilience and fortitude needed for long term commitment and a vision of hope. We need to sit at their feet and learn from them before their memories, wisdom, and stories perish with them.
And then the onus is on us who remain to build and preserve a historical memory that others can one day view and learn from. In this digital age where so much remains obscure, inaccessible, and digitally corruptible, it is vitally important to leave behind physical records, photographs, drawings, and letters that can one day be archived and studied by all.
We must learn from history to take responsibility in the world, in society and in politics, to promote the common good
Each place and community has its own unique history - a history full of celebrations and triumphs, and tragedies and injustices. Some communities are associated more strongly with vices than others (such as places with a reputation for gang violence, pollution and dilapidation, or perhaps known for a notorious murder). It falls to the inhabitants of such communities to find out their history, learn from past mistakes, and build a convivial, hope-filled future - perhaps through engagement in local politics, community groups, and sacrificial service.
But, even in the darkest of communities, virtue and hope can be found. Such stories of heroes and heroines (both extraordinary and ordinary), times of triumph, and seasons of joy need to be remembered, celebrated, and incorporated into our communal rhythms, storytelling, and celebrations.
We must take responsibility for the natural world and delight in it
Even in the middle of the city, the natural world is present. For most of us, our local park is the largest natural space that is open for all to enjoy. Sadly, these places often suffer neglect and abuse akin to the tragedy of the commons.1 This need not be so. In the care of a community group or even just a few dedicated volunteers, these parks can become an oasis of beauty in the midst of our concrete jungles - areas where children can play and roam free, and workers can come and be refreshed. Such care could involve picking up litter, cleaning graffiti, mending what is broken, gardening, and just being a positive physical presence.
These parks and green spaces which are well cared for will contain much life both great and small. Such creatures may be harder to spot than those in the wildernesses or national parks, but ‘those who seek will find’, even if that means being patient and or going equipped with a magnifying glass. In time, we need to learn to delight in the creatures of our neighbourhoods for what we delight in (and help others to delight in), is what we learn to cherish and protect. Learning the names and life histories of the plants and animals that call our surroundings home is one way in which we can notice them and also instil in us and others a love and delight for them. These species are handiworks of God’s creation containing beauty and ingenuity that surpasses all the designs and machines of man - and they are His gift to us for our delight.
Honour work and the worker and learn the value of hard work
Our communities were once full of workers of skill: blacksmiths, weavers, bakers, carpenters, tailors, and cobblers. However, modern society doesn’t put a premium on good work (valuing instead cheapness and convenience) and the forces of the global market along with the rise of the machine have emptied our high streets of these masterful workers. Thankfully all is not lost, and a few craftsmen and women and small business owners hang on. Part of our responsibility as community members is to support the livelihoods of our neighbours who are employed in such work. These businesses can’t benefit from economies of scale and can only persist if we the local consumer commit to supporting their good work.
For some of us, our places and output of work will be situated within our local communities. We should work not only to provide a blessing for ourselves, but also for the good of the community around us. We all need to ask ourselves again and again ‘how can I bless my community through the work that I do?’ This will include making sure the products we make are not just functional but also beautiful, giving delight to those who see and use them. For those who build new buildings in the community, this will mean not cutting corners, but creating long-lasting, practical, and beautiful structures and homes. For those who serve, this will mean providing genuine service for the needs of the community, while also willingly going the extra mile. Additionally, such service should include getting to know the names and peculiar/unique preferences of those we serve - which satisfies not only their material and physical needs but emotional needs too. A genuine warm smile and personal greeting can go a long way.
Build on cooperation and partnership because together we are strong
Neighbourhoods that share life together are strong and can achieve much common good, and a healthy community will provide many opportunities for participation and cooperation. These include opportunities to celebrate together and serve one another. Existing clubs, groups, and institutions should be strengthened and actively participated in, while new traditions should be developed that reflect the place and its specifics, and old traditions remembered and celebrated. And when in need of help, members should be able to (without embarrassment or shame) call on neighbours, friends, and church family to come and help. In all the above, it is vitally important to make sure all are included - especially the marginalised and the foreigner/newcomer.
Learn from nature because nature serves as a model for sustainability
Town planners and community leaders may not immediately think of nature when designing layouts, policies, and projects, but they should. The natural world and the species, ecologies, and processes it contains provide a plethora of wisdom, ingenuity, lessons, and models that we can all learn from. Such lessons can help us to design towns, villages, and cities that are conducive to convivial communities and virtuous, pleasurable living.
For example, nature, through its cyclical processes, minimises waste. Our local economies should be as cyclical in nature as possible and even make use of the natural cycles. Trees have deep roots providing stability and permanence thus providing a reliable and stable home for a host of species. Our communities need people, institutions, and buildings that remain rooted for the long haul. Nature has an absence of straight lines and hard edges - curves and wiggles are more natural, pleasing to the eye, and help to slow us down. Our roads and pathways should follow suit. These examples are only scratching the surface of the wisdom and models that nature will provide for those who take the time to look and inquire.
Stewarding creation is a wonderful task and to find work that is deeply human is a blessing
Research shows that spending time outdoors is wonderful for mental health, and the benefits accrue when we engage in work with our hands and get soil under our fingertips. Many communities are blessed with allotments or community gardens which provide ample opportunity to work the ground and to produce healthy, nutritious, and delicious food. Such community gardens and allotments can also be important repositories of heritage varieties, ensuring the continuance of these precious crops for future generations. Such work of tending the land and enabling it to yield its fruit follows the pattern of the first work given to man and is core to our identity as humans.
What is more, well-thought-through human management of local wild spaces can increase the diversity of habitats and niches resulting in higher biodiversity and the arrival of new species to the area. Few things in life bring more joy than knowing that species of bird or that species of flower is present in the area, in part, due to your care and management of the green space. The same can be said for feeding the birds in your garden - each new species that visit brings with it new moments of joy.
Try to live as a Christian in deeds and not just words
To be a Christian is to be a blessing to those around us, especially to those who may never have experienced blessing before - the single mother, the homeless, the orphaned child, the mentally ill, the abused, the disabled, and the refugee. By serving, loving, and learning from such people we bring blessing into the lives of these precious but often neglected image-bearers and open avenues to offer them the true and greatest blessing of the good news of Jesus. Additionally, by welcoming, serving, knowing, and empowering such people, we include them in the local community to which we belong, and also hopefully, in time, into the community of faith.
To be a Christian is also to be the harbinger and promoter of justice. As well as being places of joy and happiness, every community in this fallen world contains its dark places: areas where injustice and evil dominate and keep people in their hideous grip. Christians are called to advocate for the voiceless and abused, and (using appropriate means) to bring about justice in our torn and divided communities. Rather than shying away from the no-go areas, Christians should embrace such areas seeking to bring to them healing, justice, and the good news of Jesus. This will be hard, hard work and will require patience, rootedness, wisdom and “a long obedience in the same direction”2 but will in time, with the Spirit’s help, yield the fruit of joyful communities and renewed lives.
The ‘tragedy of the commons’ is helpfully explained here https://www.britannica.com/science/tragedy-of-the-commons
Eugene Peterson’s wonderful phrase.
Hello Hadden. Just joined the fun here and am looking forward to reading more here. I am interested in your use of the terms creation and nature. Do you see them as interchangeable or synonymous?
Secondly, I think the parable of the talents is a good help in us understanding stewardship. I strongly believe that God requires more of us than returning to Him what He has given us stewardship over; but, we are to return it to Him with gain. Do you see stewardship in this way at all?
Only just got round to reading this but wow!! What wisdom. Thanks for adapting and sharing 😊