26Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.–Genesis 1
Right away mankind is different than all else that is created. We are unique and special and have our value linked to God himself. Only man is said to be made in God’s image. Any worldview that sees humanity ultimately as the same as any other animal is simply biblically incorrect.
All humanity has intrinsic value and worth as Image bearers of God. I don’t have the power to give other people value or even to myself, but God can and does. This is huge in a world that seeks to devalue and shame or that loves to tie a person’s worth with accomplishments or meeting certain goals. True value cannot be attainted and can not be proclaimed by people. We are not the the creator. Only God can.
God made us to serve as stewards with dominion over other living creatures. We know this because the Hebrew word is “let them rule” even though it is God who clearly rules. We therefore have our first purpose given to us by God. We are to obey him in a manner that represents him.–JMB
Joel M Bradshaw 
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