posted on October 14, 2011 17:38
While Gil and Charyla are back East spending a week with their kids and grandkids, Gil asked me to write to all of you. In so doing, we'll press the "pause button" on the focus of the fruit of the Spirit for this week.
One thing that God has been bringing up to me is the idea of stewardship. I can see some of your reactions being, "Okay, Mr. FPU, why do we need to talk about money?" Unfortunately, stewardship has received the same treatment as worship; both have been stripped down to a one-sided topic that we may disagree about. (stewardship=money as worship=music). Steward simply means manager. (It's actually an old English word.) While stewardship is easy to define, the scope of its application is broad.
God has mandated us to be managers. In Genesis 1:28-30, God gave Adam and Eve dominion over creation for the purpose of serving God and mankind. The word creation has to do with both the macro and the micro; the world and our world. One influences the other. We can't be good managers of the macro if we are crummy managers of our micro. Take a quick moment to think of the different areas that God has given you to manage. What comes to mind? My list includes home, children, marriage/relationships, money, health (mental, physical, emotional, spiritual), ministry leadership teams, office, possessions, wisdom, blessings, the Bible, etc. The great thing about stewardship is that none of us has been given by God the exact same things to manage. Some overlaps will occur, but there are many unique to you. No one is going to properly manage all of these areas all of the time; that's a given. Becoming a good manager can take a lifetime, the sooner the better.
If trying to be a good steward isn't difficult enough, we get further into trouble when we try to manage things, people or circumstances that God hasn't intended for us to take on. Some examples include protecting loved ones from consequences, overextending ourselves in ministry because "the work has got to be done", taking on the burdens of others that enable them instead of help them, telling ourselves "yes" and God "no" too often, etc.
Do yourself a favor and ask God what He has given to you to manage. Does His list match up with yours? If we were better managers/stewards in the areas that we have been given, then we would gain a greater focus and purpose in life so we can be prepared for the next. Everyone wins when we do this well.
Blessings to you,
Jason