The New Year is always an exciting time for me. It is a time for new beginnings, to start from a clean slate and a time for new diets and New Year resolutions! I want to encourage you to set aside some time to be alone for several hours and ask God what He wants you to do in 2010. Where does He want you to go? Whom does He want you to serve? What attitude does He want you to change?
As you reflect on God’s plan for your life in 2010, I challenge you to a renewal of your commitment to the Biblical principle of stewardship. I believe that the Biblical theology of money can be summed up in two verses: God owns it all as found in I Chronicles 29:11-12, and Matthew 25:14-30 which tells us about how we are His stewards.
The first statement is fairly straightforward and it is usually an easy thing to say, but living a lifestyle that demonstrates that God owns it all is a much more difficult endeavor! If we fail to truly understand that God owns it all, we will NEVER have a right view of God, nor will we ever understand the Biblical principle of stewardship.
Stewardship is managing the resources of another. When we first think of stewardship, most of us immediately think of financial stewardship. While that is a part of stewardship, it is a very small part. The resources God has given us are too numerous to list, but they include the Scriptures, talents, skills, time, relationships, positions, physical health, mental abilities, and finances. All of these resources are HIS and we are to use them in a way that HE directs and that glorifies HIM!
How does God grade our stewardship? By our faithfulness. I Corinthians 4:2 says, “…it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.” Then New International Version renders the same phrase, “…those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” Are you being a faithful steward of the trust God has given you?
How do you think God would grade you on your stewardship? Consider the following questions:
- Do I really believe God owns EVERYTHING?
- Do I act like God owns EVERYTHING?
- Do I manage the resources God has entrusted to me as if I were the owner instead of the steward?
- What are some areas in which I have taken over the ownership? Write those areas down and give them back to God. Ask someone to keep you accountable in your stewardship in those areas.
Do the people around me see that I am God’s steward and that EVERY area of my life belongs to Him?
I challenge you to make 2010 “The Year of the Steward.” File this article away and ask yourself the same questions again regularly and especially at the end of 2010. Watch faithfully how your grade improves by His grace in your life. Ask God to turn your world upside down and make His ways your ways, His heart your heart, His economy your economy and His plan for 2010 your plan for 2010.
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This article was contributed by Ed Gillentine, Senior Partner with Williams & Gillentine Legacy Planning. Ed and his partner, Chris Williams, are a part of the HOPE network of Generous Advisors. For more information about Legacy Planning, please visit www.wglpllc.com or call 901.435.6894. Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC.