When we are able to look at everything we are and have as coming from our gracious heavenly Father, it helps us walk through life with open hands held back to him…and in the process, we discover our resources are far more than just the material things we have.
Psalm 24:1 – “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it,” helps us understand nothing we have really belongs to us – it all belongs to God, and we are the stewards of his wealth, gifts, opportunities, belongings, relationships and much more!
God gives us the responsibility to manage these resources carefully – to treat all his gifts to us with an awareness of his entrusting them to us. We are told in Matthew 25:14-30 that we will be called to one day give an account to God of how we have administered everything we have been given.
In our hurry-up affluent world, sometimes we take our resources for granted and forget to be intentional in their use. Here are some things I have learned to do that help me pause, be grateful, and ask God to guide me in stewarding resources well…
1) Ask yourself what you actually need to have to in order to be content, and how you might live on less so others can have more
2) Ask God to speak to you about what percentage of your income he wants you to give back to him that will stretch you and grow your faith
3) Encourage your family to drop their change into a jar; when you hear of a need, offer what is in the jar to meet that need
4) What time or talent can you give to a service opportunity or mission – or to a neighbor who could use a helping hand?
6) How are you using gifts and talents? Could your artwork be a blessing to someone (a print on a greeting card or a print to cheer someone?) Could your singing lift someone’s spirits in a Senior Community? Or could your gift of empathy and compassion be an encouragement to someone you could visit who is shut in by surgery or illness?
5) Consider the legacy you are passing on to others. What do you want people to say about your stewardship of your time, talent and treasure after you are gone?
- Judi Brandow, Communications Specialist
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