Keeping the Heart of God at the Heart of Living
There is no better way to practically define what total life stewardship really is than with this simple phrase: keeping the heart of God at the heart of living. Stewardship is all about carrying out the wishes of God, the Owner, as one of the caretakers of His property.
Does God Care How We Invest?
As we probe the extent to which God’s ownership and our stewardship impact how we live, we cannot ignore one of the most common areas of American life—how we invest. We cannot explore this area of life stewardship without first being reminded of the two foundational truths of life stewardship: first, God owns everything; and second, it is our job to carefully and wisely manage everything He entrusts to us.
Inheritances: Oh, What to Do?
Of all the issues that affluent parents face in planning, none consumes more time and emotional energy than that of inheritances—and for good reason. There is no area of planning that could be more devastating to a family than an ill-conceived or ill-timed inheritance. I have yet to see an inheritance plan with which parents were entirely satisfied when the actual distributions were clearly outlined for them.
The Defining Characteristics of a Good and Faithful Steward
Stewards continually examine their behavior — their motives, their thoughts, their attitudes, the direction their lives are headed, and whether their lives are a close replica of the life of Jesus. Unfortunately, we far too often examine our lives only when something is going wrong or we face some significant crisis.
Double Trouble
We live in two kingdoms — our spiritual kingdom and our material kingdom. We can find ourselves attempting to straddle these two kingdoms, one foot planted in each even as they drift apart, leaving us facing double trouble. The Bible offers several metaphors to expose this contradictory double life.
Dominion: Man’s First Stewardship Assignment
Mankind has been given a creation mandate to fill — to subdue and have dominion (rule) over all of God’s good creation. In other words, mankind has been assigned the role of general manager of the Father’s world. What an incredible honor! What an incredible responsibility!
Being Poor in Spirit While Rich in Things
As Americans, we live in the richest nation in the world. Because we are surrounded with degrees of material prosperity, the idea of being poor in spirit presents us with an extraordinary challenge and an opportunity that can prove either powerful or destructive. How are we supposed to be poor in spirit while being rich in things?
Where Are All the Wealthy Christians?
How is it that we find the overwhelming majority of wealthy Christians routinely disenfranchised from the local church? How is it that these “movers and shakers,” these “make it happen” people, these “empire builders” who have a heart for God have somehow found themselves to be a marginalized group in the church?
To Grow or To Die
Here’s a provocative statement: The goal of the church should be “not to grow, but to die.” This statement flies in the face of almost everything we hear about church growth today. Yet it is a rock-solid, biblical statement.
Trust Matters
The Bible repeatedly admonishes us to trust in the Lord. For example, we are told to trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5, NASB). However, because of our fallen and selfish nature, we are inclined to put our trust in anything or anyone but the Lord.