What If Good Stewardship Is About More Than How You Use Your Money?
I woke up this morning with my day all planned. I was going to journal with Holy Spirit, run some errands with my son, write this blog post…and so the list went on. And then I had what I can only describe as a very strong invitation from God, to first call round at the café where one of my friends works to see how she was doing.
Truth be told, I’d had the same nudge earlier in the week about this particular morning—but then I’d talked myself out of it when I was actually planning the day. It’s quite easy to talk oneself out of a God-nudge once, but when the same invitation pops up a second time, it becomes much harder to discount or ignore, and so I adjusted my plans and got ready to go and see my friend.
The nudge had been very specific. I was to go to her for 10AM when the café opened, before things got too busy and I was to walk, not go in the car. It’s only a ten-minute walk from my house and it was a dry morning, so I was very happy to oblige.
However, I was a couple of minutes late leaving the house so you can imagine my frustration then when the barrier was down on the level crossing, and I found myself having to wait. I am definitely not going to get to her by 10AM, I was thinking to myself, when a dog wandered past, on the wrong side of the barrier!
The dog was swiftly helped to the correct side of the barrier, out of harm's way from the soon to be passing train. A man rushed out of his car up to the other side of the crossing, fearful for the dog’s life after he’d seen him wandering down the track, so we reassured him that all was well and still we waited for the train to pass.
Eventually normal service resumed, the barrier lifted, and I was left holding the dog, not really sure what to do with him. I asked the man in front of me if he happened to have some string in his pocket (I was thinking I could use it as a makeshift lead) but he took hold of the dog’s collar, marched him over the crossing and, before I could say anything, and let him run away into a nearby ally. I still hadn’t decided what to do with the dog but letting him run off again definitely wasn’t what I had in mind!
However, the deed was done, there didn’t seem to be much more I could do, so I walked around the corner to the cafe, thinking that my friend might have some string and I could go back and try and round the dog up again.
My friend was as pleased to see me as she always is, but, despite her warm welcome, I got the sense that, despite what I assumed God had in mind for me when He nudged me to go and see her, today was not a day for coffee and a long chat.
Instead, by happy coincidence (or God-incidence as I like to call these moments, I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s really no such thing as a coincidence!) two police community support officers were in the café and, having explained to them what had happened, and where I’d last seen the dog, they took over the search and soon reunited the missing pup with his owner. A very happy ending to my tale—pun absolutely intended!
You might be reading this wondering what on earth my point is? And if you’re a member of the Good Christian Company team, you’re probably even more puzzled because aren’t we focussing on finances in August?! And you’re right, that was absolutely my intention. I’m meant to be sharing with you the reminder that everything belongs to God, probably using the famous “cattle on a thousand hills” verse somewhere in there to give biblical authority to my writing.
But guess what God reminded me? Good stewardship isn’t just about how we use our money. It’s about how we look after our resources: time, talents & giftings, physical resources like our home & car and yes, money. But it’s also our attitude, our heart & soul. In Jesus we live and breathe and have our very being (Acts 17:28; John 1:3) We owe everything about us to God.
And what about the people around us who we are given the privilege of loving on? Our children aren’t called a gift by accident! God is the owner of everything, including how we move through the day and action our plans - hence today’s little story. Giving God your yes, even when it makes no sense at all or plays out differently to how you expected it to, is good stewardship.
And every time you take God at His word and give Him your amen, you bring Him glory.
“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.” 2 Corinthians 1:20
Does this kind of stewardship mean you’re going to sometimes find your plans going awry? I can almost guarantee it. But will this also lead you into unexpected and often fun adventures with God that leave you feeling more alive than you ever dared dream possible? Absolutely!
And it starts simply by being open to God, living from your place as His beloved child, approaching Him as one who is loved: “What are we doing today, Dad?” and flowing through the day from there.
“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life - and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.
Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” — Romans 12:1+2 MSG