“And the Lord replied, ‘A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other servants and feeding them.’” (Luke 12:42 NLT)
Stewardship isn’t a word we see or hear used very often other than at church. Today we use words like manager, administrator, or boss, but they mean essentially the same thing. A steward refers to someone who is given authority to manage the affairs of someone else. That which they manage doesn’t belong to the steward, they are simply given authority to oversee its care or management.
Sometimes for those of us who belong to the Lord Jesus we get confused and over time can begin to believe things the Lord has given us to manage are actually our own. Things like our house, car, clothes, food, children, friends, family, furnishings, jobs, basically any material possession we have. But it doesn’t end there. Our bodies, minds, and souls are also property of the Lord’s.
Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” Corky Calhoun reminds us: “When it comes to our stuff we confuse temporal stewardship with eternal ownership.”
What are the implications? Realizing we don’t own something, as a believer, we should take even better care of it than if it was our own. If I’m visiting with relatives and I borrow their vehicle, I fill it with gas and, if the weather permits, I have it washed. If we stay with family, we try to put the room where we stayed back in the same shape it was in before we came.
Related to our bodies. We only get one life, so we need to be conscientious in caring for the Lord’s Temple. How so? Basically, eating what’s healthy, exercising, and having regular checkups with our doctor. And, yes, I struggle with some of this as much as you do, but my wife is helping me reorient my eating to enable me to get off some or all of the meds I’m currently on.
It doesn’t seem right to me, if I have a choice, and at this point in my life I still do, not to do everything I can to be as healthy as I can for as long as I can. Why is that important? As I’ve said before, I want to wear out, not burn out, which to me includes being sidelined because of bad health. And, yes, of course, there are things that happen over which we have no control, but as much as it lies within our control, a good steward takes care of their bodies, minds, and souls to the glory of the Lord.
Being a good steward also includes the investment of our time. To sit at the computer or in front of a TV or phone for hours on end when we have family members, friends and neighbors who are headed to hell is blasphemous. And even if you can’t physically go out to visit or to take someone out for a meal, can you invite them to your home? Can you call them? Write them a note? Pray for an opportunity to be Jesus to them in some way?
As to our housing we often make the decision to rent or own, but never lose sight of the fact that our “ownership” still comes under the Lord’s canopy of everything else that belongs to Him. He provides the resources that enable us to buy that property, so we still answer to Him for its care and use.
The longer I live the more aware I become of the privilege of being God’s child. Realizing my body and every material possession I have belongs to the Lord and I’m subject to His ownership requirements gives me a sense of peace in which I rest knowing He’s got my back.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 