Steward Or Slave?

There's a common line of thinking out there that says that the church has talked too much about money. The idea goes that if we will stay away from this issue, we'll fight against ugly stereotypes that make pastors & ministries look like they're trying to figure out how to fleece the poor unsuspecting congregant. However, when I look around at our culture in general & at Christians in particular, I'm beginning to think that the real issue is that the church hasn't talked about money enough. If we had, would so many of our people not only be financially upside down, but also think that it's normal or feel completely unequipped to deal with the situation? Maybe the reason so many Christians have unbiblical financial practices is because they've been underexposed to the biblical principles & practices. This is an important issue for families to address as well. After all, most of our financial practices are learned in our homes. We mimic similar behavior that we see in our parents. So if we want our children & grandchildren to live financially faithful lives, we've got to lay the foundation with our own faithfulness.

"You Must Decide Whether You & Your Stuff Will Serve God 

Or If You Will Be A Slave To Your Stuff.

In Matthew 19 we get the story of a young man who wanted to know how he could find eternal life. Jesus instructed the young man to get rid of all of his stuff & then come follow Him. Scripture tells us the young man left sad because he had great wealth. Even though this young man had spent his whole life trying to be a good, religious person, his heart had been taken over by an idol: his wealth. The conversation that follows reveals to us that the issue isn't just the amount of stuff a person has but the condition of their heart. If your heart is a slave to your stuff, it can't be submitted to Jesus.

If you & I aren't careful we'll fall into the same trap. We'll talk a good game when it comes to religion & spiritual things, but in reality our hearts belong to something else. Sure, we think that our income & our stuff is serving us & helping us build the life we've always wanted, but how many people have woke up to the reality that the thing they once thought was serving them has now enslaved them? How much of our stuff has us enslaved? If you're in debt, you're not free. If you don't believe me, miss your next payment & see if your slave master doesn't come calling.

Jesus reminds us in Matthew 6 that trying to serve both God & your stuff leads to worry, worldliness, a lack of Kingdom impact, & eventually it leads to hating or despising God. You can't serve two masters. So will you submit yourself & your stuff to serving & honoring God? Or are you going to try to have it both ways? If you try to serve both, you'll find yourself enslaved to your stuff, & you may literally not be able to afford to serve God. As you read this, let me remind you that feeling convicted isn't worth much. Is your conviction going to lead to action, to transformation? Are you going to submit yourself & your stuff to God? Are you going to shift from viewing yourself as an owner to viewing yourself as a steward? Are you going to put an action plan in place to get out from under whatever slavery debt may have you in? Are you going to help fund the ministry of your local congregation? Are you going to make sure that 100% of what you have is used to honor Jesus? Or are you going to walk away sad like that young man in Matthew 19?