"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." Genesis 1:28

Mowed my lawn today, first time this season. My wild, unsubmissive lawn. My lawn in which grass and grass-related vegetation enjoys minority status. But I thought of the above verse (emphasis added) in which one of the first commands to Man is to subdue the earth. I sometimes wonder why we bother with lawns, except to appease disapproving neighbors with nicer lawns. But as suburbanites far removed from actually tilling the earth (at least with any success...I've yet to successfully grow a crop of anything but dandelions), perhaps this chore is the one remaining connection we have to that primal command from God to SUBDUE the earth.

Strangely enough, that can be of some comfort...when I feel overwhelmed by the jungle-like craziness that springs out of the ground every year, I sometimes wonder about the sheer pointlessness of it, and think about how nice a lawn of sand, rocks, or astroturf would be. But remembering God's command, I am encouraged; I may have only a small patch of the earth to my charge, but it is mine and God has appointed me master of it. It SHALL be subdued under me.

Here's my proposal.