by Pastor Bryan
Spring Cleaning!! It’s that time of year again, when we turn the furnace off and open the windows to the cool night air and the sound of the frogs singing. It’s also that time of year where we begin to clean out our houses and storage buildings. Have we ever thought about why it’s important to take care of what we’ve been blessed with? Have we ever thought about how our belongings are actually attached to God and simply on loan to us? Where does this idea of “stewardship” begin and end? Let’s start with scripture.
Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” If we begin here, we obviously understand that all of creation belongs to God. Anything man has made or created must first start with raw minerals that are already in existence. Man has never created anything that didn’t start with something already in existence. Only God has. That being said, all that we own, including our bodies, is property of God. Shouldn’t that elevate our habits of caring?
Genesis 1:26, “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.” Wow, we read here that man has been created with a purpose, Christians should be leading by example in how we handle what we are surrounded by. If we begin with the understand that “all” things belong to God and then He created man to have dominion over His belongings, why have we not shown more care for them? Much less, how have we not shown this same care for our basic blessings?
“The biblical doctrine of stewardship defines a man’s relationship to God. It identifies God as owner and man as manager. God makes man His co-worker in administering all aspects of our life. The apostle Paul explains it best by saying, “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:9). Starting with this concept, we are then able to accurately view and correctly value not only our possessions, but, more importantly, human life itself. In essence, stewardship defines our purpose in this world as assigned to us by God Himself. It is our divinely given opportunity to join with God in His worldwide and eternal redemptive movement (Matthew 28:19-20). Stewardship is not God taking something from us; it is His method of bestowing His richest gifts upon His people.”
We must then ask ourselves an introspective question, am I the lord of my life or is Christ the Lord of my life? What am I dedicating to God? Does God get every aspect of my life or is He guiding my life’s decisions? Do I plan around God’s sovereignty or do I tithe, offer, service when it’s convenient to place Him in the gaps of my weekly schedule?
Don’t just give God 10% of what’s left of yourself, give Him 10% of what we begin with. He rejoices in the condition of our hearts, not with what is given.