When I consider the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you visit him? For you have made him a little lower than the angels, and you have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen–even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth! –Psalm 8:3-9

The opposite of bondage is not freedom; the opposite of bondage is dominion. Your destiny is more than a life devoid of bondage; your destiny is to reign with Christ.

But we have drastically misunderstood dominion in the body of Christ. We tend to believe that we are supposed to learn how to reign over other people. This is misguided.

When God created Adam and Eve he blessed them and commanded them to be fruitful, multiply, and to take dominion over the earth. He gave Adam dominion over everything that he created . . . everything, that is, but Eve. And he gave Eve dominion over everything that he had created . . . everything, that is, but Adam.

Adam and Eve were created to rule together, not over each other. Their rule was a corporate thing, not an individual thing. They were not in competition with each other; they were in partnership.

Competition is the opposite of dominion. I can’t exercise my rule as long as I am attempting to strip you of yours in my heart. If I look down on you, I treat you [in my heart] like something that I am supposed to rule over . . . like a beast of the field. And by reducing you to an animal, I relinquish my rule and make beasts of us both.

It’s time for us to reclaim our humanity by preserving one another’s dignity in our hearts. I can’t rule without you, and you can’t rule without me. But if we highly esteem one another, if we see only the best in each other, if we spur one another on toward love and good works . . . we will learn how to rule over the works of his hands, and we will fulfill our destinies!

Be encouraged today!