If you ever have read, watched, or listened to anything written on the concept of stewardship you have heard “God is the owner of everything; we are just managers”. Psalm 24:1 The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the Lord. It can be an extremely freeing and powerful statement but taken out of context or with the wrong heart it will place people in the bondage driven by our fallen world.
Who are you? Are you free, released from the hold of the earthly treasures earned and exchanged this side of God’s Kingdom? My answer is easy…of course I am free of the ties of my possessions, my things, my stuff do not own me…right…?
Webster’s dictionary defines treasure as: wealth (such as money, jewels, or precious metals) stored up or hoarded… something of great worth or value.
….ummmm…I’m not feeling as free, how about you? Something of great value or worth…stored up…hoarded…
Now all I can see is my kiddo’s baby blanket, the ring my grandma gave me when I turned 21, the last gift from a friend who passed away, the $100 dollars I keep in my dresser just... in… case... We all have these treasures, though they are unique to each of us they are similar in one capacity: the value we give them…priceless.
Am I willing to hand over the control of my treasures to God? Is my faith strong enough to trust that what God gives will be enough? Can I become the steward that God intends me to be?
1 Timothy 6: 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out.
The Gospel reminds us that whatever is provided to us is a blessing from God given for our contentment.
1Timothy goes on to say: But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these (1Timothy6:8).
God provides. It is our job to manage the provision, to discern how this provision is used. When we can truly flip the script and reassign our value to only be completed by the love and constant pursuit of God, we can see the freedom that He desires of us. We are given 3 amazing gifts, Time, Treasure, and Talent and asked to use each to glorify our Heavenly Father. No one is equally blessed with an over abundance in each area, and even those who are blessed with abundance today may find themselves wanting tomorrow. To treasure is to steward. To feel the true blessing of all you are given here on earth we must glorify Him when we receive and then use that blessing to show God’s love to another.
As we head into 6.8 day, June, 8th, we ask that you look at the blessing that God has given you and your family and see the opportunity to take a step into stewardship. We are a small, called, staff of 4…pursuing reconciliation through Jesus in our city…the Glory of God is our mission, as we support the local church as a catalyst of the true Gospel message to the people of this community, your community.
I look to release my hold on my hoard… and will prayerfully seek the way God is asking me to be a steward of not only His blessings but His desire for the world He created to bear His image.