“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others…” – 1st Peter 4:10 (NIV)
As stewards of God’s resources, let us endeavour to know and do the Father’s will, for His Word in Luke 12:47-48 (ASV) states, “And that servant, who knew his Lord’s will, and made not ready, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes; but he that knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes…”.
We need to acknowledge that every good gift comes from Jehovah God, and He has entrusted it (or them) in our care for us to use in service of humanity. We are not to be proud, arrogant, and boastful of our acquisition of wealth, academic certificates, titles, high positions in prestigious organisations, awards, etc., for it can all be taken away in a flash. Remember, if the Lord was not on our side, we would have been abysmal failures – Psalm 124:1-8.
Beloved, we attract the wrath of God when we attribute all our successes to ourselves. Many times, we have heard the egotistical term “self-made man.” But it is the Lord who gives us strength to earn and acquire wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18), not any man.
Woe unto those persons who use their power and authority to hurt rather than to heal, to deprive rather than to supply those in need, to reject rather than accept, to demote rather than promote, and to institute structures and systems to discriminate and stagnate a person, or group of persons because of racial or prejudicial considerations, rather than provide liberty to those who are castigated. This is surely the antithesis of stewardship. Proverbs 14:31 reminds us that those who oppress the poor show contempt for God. Remember, God detests the proud.
Saints, the gifts we possess are not our own. We ourselves are not our own; we belong to God. He created us in His own image after His likeness (Genesis 1:26). As stewards, we need to recognise that everything we have and everything we are is a gift from God. As such, we should be grateful and generous and make God’s love visible by imitating Jesus.
Read: Matthew 5:16; Galatians 6:9
Bible Reading Guide: Psalm 119:49-56; 1 Timothy 2; Jeremiah 35; Jeremiah 36; Jeremiah 37
