The Test of Stewardship

November 18, 2011

Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.

Bible Verse of the Day: Luke 16:10 " Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much."

What we do with what we are given tells a lot about our relationship with God. If we see all the things we are given as "ours" we are missing the big picture that really everything we have is "His." There is no one I know that has figured out how to keep hold of what he has on earth once he has passed into eternity. The old saying that there "aint no U-haul behind the hearse" applies here. On the day we pass, we will never have to write another check, pay another bill, make a deposit into our checking account or try to figure out the value of a home. It will all be meaningless in the blink of an eye. But Christ spent a lot of time preaching about money because he knew how important it would be in our lives. In the 16th chapter of gospel of Luke, Jesus tells the parable of the shrewd manager. I believe the message delivered here is a key to understanding God's expectations for the opportunities he gives us in our lives. He wants us to use our resources to benefit His kingdom and to touch people's lives from a platform of hope and love that illustrate the love that we have been given as believers in Jesus Christ. We should always keep in mind the hierarchy of the relationship between God and money. If God is our master, than money is our servant. It can be used for Kingdom building purposes that will be pleasing to the Lord and will have eternal consequences for us as well. We should keep in mind that what we do with what we are given today will be something that we must give account of before Him for eternity. Think of all of the faces we will get to see in heaven from the people whose lives have benefited from our generosity. Many of these people we will never even meet on earth, but they will be the benefactors of our giving to a homeless shelter, or an Evangelical Church or a mission's trip. How great will it be to see how the money or time or conversation you gave impacted other people's lives for eternity. On the other hand, If money is our God and God is a servant to that wealth, woe be to us. If we hoard what we are given and do not act as faithful and trustworthy steward's of all we have been given on earth, how lonely will it be when we show up to a party in Heaven, and there is no one there to join us. The guilt and shame of our selfishness will haunt us. John 16:11 warns, " So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?" The implication here is that if you have not been trustworthy with things that are temporary or perishable, how in the world can God trust you with things that are imperishable? The problem with our stuff here is that it is temporary. But how we view it is key. If we truly understand that it all belongs to God, then we should act like that in our mindset and actions. I am learning as I go in life how to practically apply these lessons in my own life. I don't believe that the people who advocate giving it all away are being practical because God expects us to be good stewards with all He has given us, including our families, and leaving them homeless or without food, would be failing in our basic responsibilities. If we all gave everything away to those who play that guilt card, then they would all be very rich and everyone else would be very poor. That would not solve anything. But I believe God is interested in the intentions of our hearts and our willingness to view everything that He brings into our life as an opportunity to prove our worthiness as stewards. I believe this applies to not only money and possessions but also to opportunities and motivations. Do we do our best with what we have been given at any given time to make decisions that are worthy of God? Do we trust that when we give it away, then he can bless it one hundred fold? I have struggled throughout my life with letting go of "my stuff." That I believe is traced back to my childhood and living with the stress and uncertainty of knowing if my mother would have enough money from week to week to provide for us as my parents messy divorce always entailed a good deal of stress around the control mechanism of money. But by the grace of God, I have never had to miss a day of eating in my life. As my relationship with God has continued to develop, I have been trying to grow in my understanding of the relationships between God's expectations and money. I am trying to become a truly joyful giver, one who sees the benefit of giving as much more rewarding than the fear of my own insecurities about "loss of my stuff." That is where I think the breakthrough is occurring in my walk. The mindset with which I approach decisions are starting to change from my perspective to God's perspective. I want to understand and live out the truth that none of what I have is mine and therefore I should pay it forward. This is also true of any wisdom or conversation that are needed to be shared. A good steward is always looking for ways to benefit others to please God. The steward with a heart focused on God can not help but be generous and bold. On the other hand, when we look at ourselves, we tend to become fearful and have a narcissistic tendency to view things as ours. Like we can do anything with the wealth we have been given except use it for our pleasure and ultimately in most cases, our pain. A man's heart that clearly understands that God is master, and money is a servant, will make good decisions that will lead to an eternal abundance awaiting him in Heaven for he will have touched many. The heart of a man who views money as the master will be held captive by his greed and held in bondage by his lack of generosity. John 16:13 clearly states that " No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." I believe that when you faithfully serve God and have a heart that is in alignment with His will, that His abundance will continue to flow through those who are proving themselves to be worthy stewards. He will continue to give you opportunities to prove your worthiness. If you view things from the perspective that He is the Creator of all abundance, than what a blessing it is in your life to be able to pay it back to Him in a way that glories Him and grows His Kingdom work. You will make friends and influence people for His glory through your actions. Praise be to God that He entrusts enough to prove ourselves worthy of being His stewards. May we take this privilege and responsibility with the seriousness it requires.