"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, who you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Cor. 6:19-20, NKJV).
"My times are in your hands..." (Psalm 31:15, TNIV).
"[M]aking]the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil" (Eph. 5:16, TNIV).
As Psalms 50:10 says, God "[owns] the cattle on a thousand hills," and that is not hyperbole but saying that He owns it all; we're mere stewards working for God's glory to be rewarded accordingly (cf. 1 Cor. 3:8ff). He has loaned us everything we have and we will give account to God for our stewardship (cf. Rom. 14:12). We are to do everything to the glory of God per Col. 3:23 and 1 Cor.10:31 and that means our deeds are to be done in good stewardship. Being unaccountable and irresponsible is sin and an act of rebellion to the authority that we must answer to at the Judgment Seat of Christ--being Christians means God owns us and we own nothing, but are mere managers in His interest, doing God's business.
When saying that we are stewards of everything, it includes the whole gamut of blessings: influence; power and authority; fame and reputation; talents and acquired or natural skills; spiritual gifts; resources; money; portfolios; material belongings, paraphernalia, and possessions; real estate or hearth and home, including inheritance; opportunities; energy; ambitions and drives; relationships; business contacts, connections and acquaintances; time; physical abilities, skills, and talents; vacations, vocations, and free time or even downtime; work or employment or any on-the-job opportunities; minds (wasting them is a horrible tragedy); bodies (beauty, looks, attractiveness, endowment, voice, etc.); personalities and temperaments; insights and discernment (spiritual and intellectual); education, expertise, knowledge, wisdom, and schooling; responsibilities, social life; and even friends and family assigned or entrusted to our care.
Some people are blessed in many ways, perhaps all, but all are blessed in some ways and no one can claim he is not blessed by a good God who cares for him. In short, how we spend our time and money reveals a lot about us, and we have no excuse not to do everything in the name of the Lord to His glory for however we are gifted, acknowledging that we gift others in return. A word to the wise: we're all giftees whether we would call ourselves gifted or not.
God meant for us to have an abundant life in Christ, or life to the max glorifying and serving Him, and we are stewards of all the opportunities and chances we get to fulfill the Great Commission. We are, as Scripture says, stewards of the mysteries of God (cf. 1 Cor. 4:1)! Stewardship involves much more than whether we tithe because it means complete surrender to God's will and being willing to do what we are called to do and be content to follow Him in doing it. God will indeed give us all we require to do His will when we are obedient. Indeed, even our bodies don't belong to us but have been purchased by Christ--we are not our own (cf. 1 Cor. 6:19).
When it says to love God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength (per Matt. 22:37), it means with everything we've got ("BLESS the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!" per Psalm 103:1, NKJV), and God has blessed us with as stewards--to whom much is given, much is required (cf. Luke 12:48). It doesn't matter what you do, or how many gifts you have, or even what they are, but what counts is the spirit you exercise them in and how much love you give--for we all have different gifts, but the same Spirit! "... The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love," according to Gal. 5:6, TNIV.
Many are under the delusion that their time is for them to do as they please and it belongs to them and God only owns our time at church or even just on the Lord's day; however, God owns our time and has allotted us each so much to use for His glory--when our time is up we are taken home to glory. As David said in Psalm 31:15 that his times were in God's hands or that his future was in His control, so we must surrender our time to God and not see providential events as interruptions, but as opportunities! Jesus was never too busy for the Lord's work and serving others! We all must learn to prioritize our opportunities and obligations, using time wisely, as if it's of the essence and cannot be taken back or relived.
We must all take spiritual inventory and even make regular spiritual checkups to see how we're doing with our stewardship, for we will be held to account. (Romans 14:12, TNIV, says, "So then, we will all give an account of ourselves to God.") We also must learn that even the lessons we learn along the way to the Celestial City are so that we can pass them on to others in ministry to them as good stewards of the mysteries of God. When we are faithful in what we know, He teaches us more and gives us more illumination or enlightenment. Some of us are blessed with more time, as it were, in that we are not as busy with chores or duties, and can manage our time better to the glory of God. We can learn to do everything to the glory of God and to redeem the time for the days are evil (cf. Eph. 5:16). We must be vigilant not to waste time in worry (anticipating the future); regret (being sorry about the past) or angst (misinterpreting the present), because these factors will bring depression and mood swings, and we must be careful to live in the present, but to the glory of God in light of eternity and the Word of God--the past is over and the future doesn't belong to us.
Don't ever say that you don't have the time to serve God or do His will, for we are all given equal time and opportunity to redeem it for Gods glory--it's isn't as much what you are doing, but the spirit it is done in that matters most in stewardship. Some people seem to have a lot of money, and God has blessed them financially or materially, but they are accountable for it and are perhaps more responsible in that sphere of stewardship; while the next person may seem to have time on his hands to do God's bidding, but maybe he has demonstrated more responsibility in that sphere and will be accountable for how he redeems it for God in like manner--we're all gifted in different areas of responsibility, but are all accountable and will answer to Christ at the bema or final audit of our life one day.
In the final analysis, this life is but a mere staging area, test, or try-out for eternity and we are just being suited for our final reward according to our accountability and responsibility in being stewards or managers of God's grace. Soli Deo Gloria!
When saying that we are stewards of everything, it includes the whole gamut of blessings: influence; power and authority; fame and reputation; talents and acquired or natural skills; spiritual gifts; resources; money; portfolios; material belongings, paraphernalia, and possessions; real estate or hearth and home, including inheritance; opportunities; energy; ambitions and drives; relationships; business contacts, connections and acquaintances; time; physical abilities, skills, and talents; vacations, vocations, and free time or even downtime; work or employment or any on-the-job opportunities; minds (wasting them is a horrible tragedy); bodies (beauty, looks, attractiveness, endowment, voice, etc.); personalities and temperaments; insights and discernment (spiritual and intellectual); education, expertise, knowledge, wisdom, and schooling; responsibilities, social life; and even friends and family assigned or entrusted to our care.
Some people are blessed in many ways, perhaps all, but all are blessed in some ways and no one can claim he is not blessed by a good God who cares for him. In short, how we spend our time and money reveals a lot about us, and we have no excuse not to do everything in the name of the Lord to His glory for however we are gifted, acknowledging that we gift others in return. A word to the wise: we're all giftees whether we would call ourselves gifted or not.
God meant for us to have an abundant life in Christ, or life to the max glorifying and serving Him, and we are stewards of all the opportunities and chances we get to fulfill the Great Commission. We are, as Scripture says, stewards of the mysteries of God (cf. 1 Cor. 4:1)! Stewardship involves much more than whether we tithe because it means complete surrender to God's will and being willing to do what we are called to do and be content to follow Him in doing it. God will indeed give us all we require to do His will when we are obedient. Indeed, even our bodies don't belong to us but have been purchased by Christ--we are not our own (cf. 1 Cor. 6:19).
When it says to love God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength (per Matt. 22:37), it means with everything we've got ("BLESS the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!" per Psalm 103:1, NKJV), and God has blessed us with as stewards--to whom much is given, much is required (cf. Luke 12:48). It doesn't matter what you do, or how many gifts you have, or even what they are, but what counts is the spirit you exercise them in and how much love you give--for we all have different gifts, but the same Spirit! "... The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love," according to Gal. 5:6, TNIV.
Many are under the delusion that their time is for them to do as they please and it belongs to them and God only owns our time at church or even just on the Lord's day; however, God owns our time and has allotted us each so much to use for His glory--when our time is up we are taken home to glory. As David said in Psalm 31:15 that his times were in God's hands or that his future was in His control, so we must surrender our time to God and not see providential events as interruptions, but as opportunities! Jesus was never too busy for the Lord's work and serving others! We all must learn to prioritize our opportunities and obligations, using time wisely, as if it's of the essence and cannot be taken back or relived.
We must all take spiritual inventory and even make regular spiritual checkups to see how we're doing with our stewardship, for we will be held to account. (Romans 14:12, TNIV, says, "So then, we will all give an account of ourselves to God.") We also must learn that even the lessons we learn along the way to the Celestial City are so that we can pass them on to others in ministry to them as good stewards of the mysteries of God. When we are faithful in what we know, He teaches us more and gives us more illumination or enlightenment. Some of us are blessed with more time, as it were, in that we are not as busy with chores or duties, and can manage our time better to the glory of God. We can learn to do everything to the glory of God and to redeem the time for the days are evil (cf. Eph. 5:16). We must be vigilant not to waste time in worry (anticipating the future); regret (being sorry about the past) or angst (misinterpreting the present), because these factors will bring depression and mood swings, and we must be careful to live in the present, but to the glory of God in light of eternity and the Word of God--the past is over and the future doesn't belong to us.
Don't ever say that you don't have the time to serve God or do His will, for we are all given equal time and opportunity to redeem it for Gods glory--it's isn't as much what you are doing, but the spirit it is done in that matters most in stewardship. Some people seem to have a lot of money, and God has blessed them financially or materially, but they are accountable for it and are perhaps more responsible in that sphere of stewardship; while the next person may seem to have time on his hands to do God's bidding, but maybe he has demonstrated more responsibility in that sphere and will be accountable for how he redeems it for God in like manner--we're all gifted in different areas of responsibility, but are all accountable and will answer to Christ at the bema or final audit of our life one day.
In the final analysis, this life is but a mere staging area, test, or try-out for eternity and we are just being suited for our final reward according to our accountability and responsibility in being stewards or managers of God's grace. Soli Deo Gloria!
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