Farming

Summary

God calls Christians to be independent from non-Christians (II Corinthians 6:14-17; I Thessalonians 4:12). One of the primary ways to do that is to grow our own food. We are also called to care about the health of the environment and animals that we are commanded to steward (Genesis 1:28-29; Genesis 2:15).

Endorsements

“Farming God’s Way” is a decentralized movement to teach farmers, especially the impoverished, how to farm in a way that rejuvenates the land using principles found in the Bible.

Concepts

Farm to not be dependent on nonbelievers.

Unfortunately, many Christians have jobs that rely on non-Christians, but we are called to be separate (II Corinthians 6:14-17). Back in Jesus’ time, most people were farmers, so it was easy to “be dependent on no one” (I Thessalonians 4:12). The devil seeks to kill us (John 10:10), and we must fight him. Christians are commanded to be independent from non-Christians, and this starts with what we eat. The best way to do this is to build a subsistence farm.

Give more than we take.

In farming, we literally “reap what we sow” (Galatians 6:7). God commands us to have dominion over the land and animals and to multiply (Genesis 1:28-29). Currently, humanity is killing many species each year; so to reverse this, we must farm in a way that restores the soil and ecosystem, not erode it. God says to “tend and keep” the land (Genesis 2:15), but if we farm in a way that thinks only short-term and erodes the soil, then we aren’t being good stewards, as we should give to our children more than what we take (Proverbs 13:22).

Animals should eat natural food.

Especially on large farms, animals are being given all sorts of unhealthy feed: drugs, candy, unhealthy amounts of corn and soy, same-species meat, grains, feathers, etc. God says that animals should be eating “green food” (Genesis 1:30). The majority of the time, this should be grass, and it’s been proven that green grass is scientifically healthier for animals and for us who eat the animals.

Give the soil rest.

God told Moses to not farm every 7th year to give the land some rest (Exodus 23:10-11; Leviticus 25:1-7). While we are not tied to the ceremonial laws of the Old Covenant, we are tied to the principles (Hebrews 8:13; I Corinthians 7:19). We must attempt to learn as much as we can about the soil and improve our practices: microbiology, crop rotation, no-till farming, mulch, etc.

Obey God.

Ultimately, farmers can only succeed by trusting God to provide (Deuteronomy 11:13-17).

FAQ

Isn’t environmentalism a Satanist agenda?

Many Christians believe that because the world will be destroyed by fire (II Peter 3:7), we don’t need to take care of the earth. On the contrary, the reason why the earth needs to be destroyed in the first place is because of such great evil on the earth (II Peter 3:10). One of these great evils is ignoring God’s very first command to humanity: to have dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:28) and to take care of the land (Genesis 2:15).

Are we allowed to sow fields with different seeds (Leviticus 19:19; Deuteronomy 22:9)?

Yes. It’s important to understand that these ceremonial and practical laws were meant for the practical needs of a desert civilization only and are now obsolete (Hebrews 8:13). For example, God told the men to circumcise themselves (Genesis 17:10), probably for health reasons, but later told them not to (I Corinthians 7:18). In those days, people didn’t understand which crops have symbiotic relationships and which would kill their crops. To keep things simple, God told them to not risk their whole yield (Deuteronomy 22:9) because what we think might be beneficial might be a weed (Matthew 13:24-25). So long, as we aren’t risking our whole family’s livelihood, creating symbiotic relationships among plants is godly.