By Rick Warren
“Once there was a man who was about to leave home on a
trip; he called his servants and put them in charge of his property. He gave to
each one according to his ability: to one he gave five thousand gold coins, to
another he gave two thousand, and to another he gave one thousand. Then he left
on his trip.” (Matthew 25:14b-15 GNT)
Jesus says in Matthew
25:14-15, “Once there was a man who was about to leave home on a trip; he
called his servants and put them in charge of his property. He gave to each one
according to his ability: to one he gave five thousand gold coins, to another
he gave two thousand, and to another he gave one thousand. Then he left on his
trip” (GNT).
In those days there
weren’t any banks, so when this rich man left for his long trip, he entrusted
his property to his servants. When he returned, he asked for an account from
his servants; he wanted to know what they had done with his money.
This is called
stewardship — the old English word for “manager.” The first law of financial freedom
is the law of possession: Everything you have belongs to God. You are only a
manager!
We are called to be
stewards of our time. We are called to be stewards of our influence. We are
called to be stewards of our health, our relationships, and our opportunities.
Everything you have you are to be steward or manager of.
You may say, “But wait a
minute! I worked for my money, and now you want to tell me it isn’t mine?”
Where do you think you got your body to work for your money? Where do you think
you got your mind to work for it? Where do you think you got the energy to work
for it? Where do you think you got the intelligence to work for it? Everything
you have is a gift from God. You don’t really own anything in life; it’s all on
loan.
You only get to use God’s
money while you’re here on Earth. He’s loaned it to you for 80 or so years. He
loaned it to somebody before you, and he’s going to loan it to somebody else
after you die. You don’t own it; the Master owns it all. It’s all under
management.
Do you know what the sign
is that you’ve forgotten the law of possession? When you think your money is
yours, you worry about it. You feel a pressure and stress that you weren’t
meant to have.
Money management is a
spiritual discipline. God is actually watching how you handle his money to see
what spiritual riches he can trust you with in Heaven. This might make you feel
pressure, but there is actually freedom in the law of possession.
When you remember that
God is the owner and you are the manager, you’ll worry a whole lot less and
focus more on managing God’s money well.
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