11"Take care lest you forget the LORD your God ...12 lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,... 17 Beware lest you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.' 18 You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. (Deut. 8 ESV)
A steward is a manger of what belongs to another. And we as the people of God are called to stewardship. Yet, as we can see from the passage above, there is always the real danger that the people of God forget this; that we forget that all we possess belongs to God and we are accountable to Him how we use it. Like ancient Israel, we too can easily slip into the mindset that thinks: “That’s my house, my car, my truck, my paycheck, my bank account, my herds, my fields. And my talents and abilities have gotten me this wealth.” Such thinking predominates those who are pro-abortion claiming, “It’s my body, my choice.” But God reminds us: Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Cor. 6:19-20 ESV) And yet even we who are Christians commonly think this way: It’s my body, my soul, my time, my talent, my choice to do however I please. The problem is that our choices often leave God completely out of the equation, because we don’t see ourselves as His stewards.
The LORD would have us have a change of thinking; to remember that He is our Creator, that He has given us our bodies and souls, our abilities and talents, and appointed and given the days we have upon this earth. Most importantly He would have us remember that He is our Savior and Redeemer. Like the people of Israel, whom He delivered from their slavery and certain death at the hands of the Egyptians, He has delivered us from the greater enemies of our sin, death and the devil. And He did it at great cost to Himself, through the precious blood of His Son who suffered and died upon the cross, so that we would be His own and live under Him in His Kingdom. We are not our own but were bought with great price.
A faith that believes this think in a different way about how we live and what we do with all we have:
“What does God want me to do with all that He has entrusted to me? What does God want me to do with the time He has entrusted to me? What does God want me to do with this body and mind and the talents He has entrusted to me? What does God want me to do with the property and possessions He has entrusted to me? What does God want me to do with the money He has entrusted to me? What does God want me to do with the children and grandchildren He has entrusted to me? What does the God want me to do with my neighbor He has entrusted to me?”
St. Paul encourages us to do exactly this when he writes: Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Cor. 10:31 ESV)
Like Israel, such a drastic shift in our thinking and perspective can only come as we are brought to remember over and over again the love and deliverance of God through His Word, as we hear of Jesus Christ our Savior, and rejoice once again that we and all we have are His.
Your Servant in Christ,
Pastor J. Kevin Wyckoff