read an excerpt of Chapter 1 of The Prime Directive below

In Star Trek, the television show from the 1960s, the Starship Enterprise was to explore the galaxy “to seek out new life, and new civilizations.” As they pursued their mission, they were bound by a fundamental rule known as the Prime Directive. Their Prime Directive was a charge not to interfere with the life and culture of aliens they encountered. Though this particular value isn’t our subject here, I like that term “Prime Directive.” “Prime” means “earliest,” “first,” or “most important,” and “directive” means “order” or “command.” It was their most important command; the law that directed all other activities. The end of the Starfleet Prime Directive said: “This directive takes precedence over any and all other considerations, and carries with it the highest moral obligation.”

Unlike the Starship Enterprise seeking out “new life and new civilizations,” in the first chapter of Genesis we find God creating new life and new civilizations here on earth. As he did so, he gave mankind our own Prime Directive, and I submit that understanding this informs decisions and directions for our lives, from individual and family issues to those of public governmental and economic policy. In the very first chapter of Genesis, God gave us our Prime Directive just after he finished creating the heavens and earth, plant life, and all animal life in water and on land:

 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Genesis 1:27-28

Note that this is not just a placid blessing as in “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed.” It also wasn’t just a distraction to keep us busy while God did his thing, like “Go outside and play and I’ll call you when dinner’s ready.” It’s the command of what mankind was to be about and implies the very purpose for our being created. It’s our mission and foundational instruction for life in the perfect Garden of Eden, and it has several aspects:

1.  Be fruitful

2.  Multiply

3.  Fill the earth

4.  Subdue

5.  Have dominion

While each of these is significant, the first two seem to me to be foundational to the others, so I’ve distilled this discussion of our Prime Directive down to those two: “be fruitful and multiply.” Just four words; two commands. I have surmised over the past few years that all of mankind’s social, economic, and relational issues can be addressed by responding to this Prime Directive. This book will take an in-depth look at this Directive and its relevance to how we should live both individually and as a society.