Not long ago, a friend of mine told me he bought a new home. Now I obviously didn’t tell him this, but the truth is that my friend didn’t really own “his” house. That’s because the title to the home he claimed to own was actually in the possession of the bank. And it’s not until he paid off his mortgage that he would actually own the house.
My car… my phone… my clothes. Much like my friend didn’t really own his house, you and I are mere stewards over every single possession we have. That’s because the simple truth is that God owns everything. From your shirt to your shoelaces, “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it…” (Psalm 24:1).
But how does this truth actually affect the way we treat our possessions? Quite simply, when we understand that nothing is really ours, we begin to see what we have today as resources to invest rather than toys to simply enjoy.
Think about it. When you go to a financial planner, he’s going to talk to you about what you want to happen in your future. And to make that happen, he’s going to advise you to save and invest today so that you’ll reach your ultimate goal. His job is to help you have a future-oriented perspective.
When it comes to biblical stewardship, the goal is really no different. Biblical stewardship exists to set you up for your ultimate retirement in heaven, which will be a lot longer than your retirement on earth. And the truth is that what you do here on earth will play a large part in what you enjoy in heaven.
When we invest in advancing God’s Kingdom here on earth, what we’re doing is forwarding ahead of us that which has eternal value attached to it. We’re thinking with a future-oriented mind-set, laying up for ourselves “treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:20).
That’s biblical stewardship. We give God what’s really His anyway as an investment in the rewards we’ll receive in our eternal retirement.
There’s simply no safer investment. Here on earth, moths destroy, thieves steal, stock markets crash, and money gets squandered. But when you invest your time, talent, and treasure in the eternal, your investments have divine protection!
None of what’s “ours” is really ours. It all belongs to God. So take what He lets you steward, invest it in His Kingdom, and you’ll receive it back with interest as you maximize your eternal rewards!
To learn more about what it means to be a good steward of what God has entrusted to you, you can order Dr. Tony Evans’ insightful book, Living in Financial Victory, at TonyEvans.org.