Stewardship

Stewardship “If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.” Proverbs 21:13 I have written many devotionals over the years about stewardship, mostly dealing with the power of money. However, I am totally convinced that God intends us to be a good steward of our time and our talents as well. Most people think about the parable of the talents as relating to money, but I believe Jesus intended it to equally apply to our time, our gifts and our talents. It is so easy for people to become absorbed in themselves and forget others. His greatest commandment told us to love God and also to love others as we love ourselves. Proverbs 11:24 “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.” If we bury our gifts and talents in the sand like the man who was given one talent, and not use it and multiply it, God will punish us as He did the unfaithful servant. “You wicked, lazy servant. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” I strongly feel that if we do not use our gifts and talents God will take these away from us and leave us in despair and depressed. I believe we see this in our society today as God has taken the joy out of people’s lives and replaced it with despair and depression. We see people becoming more and more dependent upon antidepressants to soothe and calm them down. I feel that if they were using what God gave them He would let them have peace and joy in their lives, and they would be experiencing God’s blessings in their lives instead of being depressed. Stewardship according to God is more than simply giving of our money; it is giving of ourselves which will produce God’s blessings. “Proverbs 11:25 “The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself.” My Daily Devotional Volume III January 25 Robert William Brock, Jr.