Are Your Advisors Asking You the Right Questions?
As believers, we need to know what the Bible says about financial matters. It is not enough, however, to just know what the Bible says about such topics; you must also know how to integrate what the Bible says into a comprehensive Master Stewardship Plan that is consistent with all these biblical principles. Are your advisors asking you the right questions—the important spiritual questions that are consistent with your biblical worldview?
Understanding the Difference Between Ownership and Control
The idea of distinguishing between ownership and control is a new concept for many wealthy families. From a biblical stewardship perspective, we should at least mentally acknowledge that we own nothing—we are mere caretakers of our Heavenly Father’s property. But the fact is, the deed to our house, our stock certificates, and the titles on our vehicles still have our name on it.
Are You an Informed or Uninformed Taxpayer?
Christian families should become informed taxpayers—avoiding all capital gains and estate taxes and paying as little as they possibly can in annual income taxes, so they will have more for themselves, more for their heirs, and more for the Kingdom of God.
When You Give You Will Take Away
The statement, “When you give, you will take away” is an intriguing maxim. If you give food to someone, you will take away their hunger. If you give work to a man, you will take away his feeling of uselessness. In the giving, there is always something gained and something lost. What makes this statement anything but simple, however, is that once you go beyond “life essentials,” it is often a considerable challenge to be sure that what you give is good and what you take away is bad.
Don’t Forget Who You Belong To
Do you remember Joseph who, by God’s providence, climbed from being a lowly slave to second-in-command in Potiphar’s house? Life was as good as it could get for Joseph—except for Potiphar’s wife, who wanted Joseph for herself. When she pursued him, Joseph rejected her advances. What caused him to flee the temptation was his awareness of who he belonged to. Remembering this is so critical to living a successful life of stewardship.
The One Question That Changes Everything
Only when we accept the truth of God’s ownership of everything, can we be prepared to ask the one question that changes everything. It is a question we must ask daily, sometimes even hourly. The question is this: God, what do You want me to do with all that You have entrusted to me?
What Is My Relationship to My Stuff?
“Stewardship” might just be one of the most misused biblical terms in the Christian vocabulary. If we were to poll a cross section of Christians and ask them what the word “stewardship” means, the overwhelming majority would say it has something to do with money and giving. This is partially right and partially wrong. And as my grandmother told me growing up, “If something is partially wrong, it is all wrong.”
Our Ultimate Stewardship Priority
Am I being a trustworthy steward of the gospel? Proverbs 11:30 (NIV) tells us, he who wins souls is wise, and might I add, is also a trustworthy steward. May we all be found trustworthy in this, our ultimate stewardship priority.
Are You Living Like a Bucket or a Pipe?
Are you living like a bucket or a pipe? A bucket is designed to hold things. A pipe is designed to convey things through it. The bucket holds what it receives, while the pipe passes on what it receives. In regard to the material possessions that God has entrusted to you, are you living like a bucket or a pipe?
Discovering Your Fire Within
A multimillionaire said some years ago — after spending a lifetime dedicated to climbing the ladder of success — that once he had finally reached the top he discovered, to his bitter disappointment, “the ladder was leaning against the wrong wall.” Have you discovered your God-given passion, your “fire within”?