We have spent the first two days contemplating our relationship to our material wealth, but that is really only a small portion of all we steward. The Bible gives us several other possessions that we do not own, but are called to carefully manage. In order for us to hear, “Well done,” as we relocate to Heaven, we will need to diligently manage these other assets as well.
Caretakers of a Brief Allotment of Time
Someone once said, “I can tell you a lot about people’s priorities in life by simply looking at two things—their checkbook and their calendar.” Even though in our current high tech culture, we likely no longer write too many checks or have a day-timer, the principal is still the same. How you choose to spend your time and your money reveals what is really important to you. It is important to keep in mind that you do “spend” your time in the same way you spend money. You will exchange your time for something and the time that has been spent is gone once and forever.
Paul commands us in Ephesians 5:15-17, “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Here we go again, using our time according to the will of the Lord. Why? Because it is His time on loan to us. He wants us to not just spend it, but to invest it wisely for eternity.
Most people do not know that Moses actually wrote one of the Psalms. If you notice the title to Psalm 90, you will see it is written by Moses. He prays to God, “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom” (v. 12).
I met a man many years ago that tried to take this prayer seriously. He determined his actuarial life expectancy and then created a calendar with the remaining number of days he had left to live. It may seem silly, but being reminded each day that today you have one less day than you did yesterday is extremely appropriate in helping us number our days.
There was a professor at the Christian college where I taught who would always answer when you asked how he was, “I’m better than yesterday because I am one day closer to Heaven!” He had learned to number his days.
Caretakers of a Slowly Decaying Body
Unless you are still in your twenties, your body is on the decline and you probably are quite aware of it. Mortality, death, and decay were a major part of the curse on humanity because of the fall of Adam. This has left us with the stewardship responsibility for the care and feeding of these “earthly tents” in which we are temporarily trapped.
Paul asked a rhetorical question in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” Here we are faced with the reality that we have been redeemed (bought back) and God now owns our bodies twice over.
Even though these bodies are ultimately destined to break down and cease to function, we are still called by God to do everything we can to care for and maintain these temporary “dwellings” to the best of our abilities. How we eat and how we exercise, for example, should not be a matter of personal preferences, but a matter of God’s directives. Abusing, neglecting, or ignoring our bodies is an act of poor stewardship which does not please the true Owner. Let me ask you, if you loaned something to someone and they brought it back to you damaged, would you be happy with the person to whom you had loaned it? I think not.
I have learned one very important reality in my own efforts to properly care for and feed God’s body: your spiritual well-being is definitely tied to your physical well-being. I am not sure how that works, but I have seen it time and time again in my own life. When I am doing well physically, I am also doing well spiritually.
Paul challenges us in Romans 12:1, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” Is how you treat your body an act of worship? Is it a demonstration of your careful management of God’s property?
Caretakers of the Good News of Salvation
God has done a number of things that from a purely human perspective seem to be less than optimal in His plans for us and eternity. For example, one thing that troubles me about God’s plan is why He put us in charge of getting His message out. I mean, He is God. He had unlimited means at His disposal to let the world know about the way of salvation. Yet somehow in His divine wisdom, He chooses to use us, imperfect as we are, to spread the Good News of salvation. It strikes me as being very inefficient if He really wanted to get as many people as possible to Heaven.
Nonetheless, that is His plan for the Good News of Christ. It is obvious Paul understood this as he shares in 1 Corinthians 4:1-2, “Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.” He goes on to say in 9:16-17, “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me.”
There we see it again. We have been entrusted to spread someone else’s message—like it or not. We are caretakers of the Gospel and we need to spread it anywhere we can to anyone who will listen. That is quite a demanding commission, but it is at the core of our purpose on the earth.
There is one final aspect of this Gospel management responsibility that I want to mention in closing. Peter reminds us that as managers of God’s grace, we are to use the gifts and talents that God has loaned us for His purposes. Look at 1 Peter 4:10, “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” We are charged with spreading the Word and serving fellow believers with the abilities we are entrusted with.
As you can see, stewardship covers every single aspect of our lives on this earth. How well are you stewarding all that God has entrusted to your care and management?
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E. G. “Jay” Link, is the President of Stewardship Ministries, a teaching, training and mentoring ministry for professional advisors and ministry leaders to equip them to effectively serve believers who have accumulated surplus, material possessions. He is the author of three books, “Spiritual Thoughts on Material Things: Thirty Days of Food for Thought,” “To Whom Much is Given: Navigating the Ten Life Dilemmas Affluent Christians Face” and “Family Wealth Counseling: Getting to the Heart of the Matter.” Mr. Link may be reached via email at jlink@StewardshipMinistries.org.
