a Quote:
“The basic issue for the Christian, it seems to me, is whether we believe we are stewards or owners of what we possess. A good steward receives gratefully anything his Lord gives to him. But he must account for it and use it wisely . . . If material blessings come to us, we believe they are gifts of God for which we are to be responsible as stewards. The whole earth is really ours as stewards.
Now this is a fact which non-Christians may not understand. Most of the world believes in ownership.
I remember Bishop Edwin Holt Hughes telling about being entertained by a wealthy landowner. He had preached in his host’s church that morning on God’s ownership. Looking over his broad acres and remembering the morning sermon, the man asked, ‘Do you mean to tell me, Bishop, that this land does not belong to me?’ The bishop said the answer came to him in a flash, ‘Ask me that one hundred years from now.'”
Living the Adventure – Faith and “Hidden” Difficulties
by Keith Miller and Bruce Larson
my Prayer:
Lord, I pray that I never claim ownership of my blessings. I desperately want to be a good steward of ALL the gifts you’ve entrusted to me. My financial blessings, yes, but also my spiritual, physical and relationship blessings.
Lord, please help us to spend the money you entrust to us wisely. Please show us how to be able to give above and beyond our tithe.
Lord, please help me to be a good steward of my relationship with you. Please bless me with an unwavering awareness of your presence in the daily routine of my life and with a relentless desire to spend time alone with you – listening AND talking.
Lord, please continue to help me be a good steward of this body. Help me to make healthy choices with my nutrition and to view exercise as something I just DO. EVERY day. Like sleeping, eating and driving my kids around.
Please Lord, bless me with patience and empathy in my relationships. Please guide me and show me what to do and say so that the people I love – especially my children and husband – are filled with the confidence that they are deeply loved and respected.
the Word: His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”
Matthew 25:21 (NIV)
This was dual published on my Pragmatic Communion blog.