I have had an opportunity to ride in a Range Rover Vogue on a number of occasions, and man, don’t I want to own this metal! Yes, I
mean exactly that, I am so fascinated with this car that if you asked me what
my dream car is, I wouldn’t hesitate to tell you it is the Range Rover Vogue…
maybe metallic-black in color (someone told us if you want a car, especially if
you’re making your request known to God you need to be specific… and color
matters in this case J) Everything about the car stuns me,
starting with the just right touch of masculinity expressed in its body shape and stylish finish,
the power, it’s performance, the engine sound, its luxury and comfort… just to
name but a few… am not a car expert… so I may not be in a position to describe
all the nitty-gritties with the accurate automobile jargon… but I believe my
description makes you understand why for me that would count as my ultimate
choice for a car… and I qualify as one of its aficionados.
Well… that said, I doubt if I will ever come to a
point of owning one in my entire life… that is the sad truth… well, am not
saying I will not… am just saying I doubt if I will ever own one… and here is
my reasoning, based on my convictions… you have the liberty not to agree with what
I say, but I hope you will see some sense in what I say…
The first thing I ask myself (or ought to ask
myself, considering that there are times when I forget this altogether) before
deciding to acquire something is the question, “why do I need this?”… Many a
times, I have found myself going to a large extent acquiring stuff that I later
on realized I didn’t need or that I would have done better with another simple,
cheaper alternative… The other point is about my priorities at the time of
making the decision to acquire that something. Is there something else that is more
important, which would require my attention as I am considering this particular
item? And… yes! You guessed right… this inevitably brings me to the point of
Christian stewardship… which is at the very core of my heart. In other words,
how do my daily decisions demonstrate Christian stewardship in my life? By saying
it is at the core of my heart, I don’t mean I am already there, I only intend
to say, I desire to be there… it’s a journey.
Looking at life generally, and the decisions we make,
one realizes that sometimes the very essence of scripture escapes our practical
living as Christians… and I can attempt to delve into at least one root cause of
our problem today. For one, many of us have been brought up in this competitive
generation, where our success is not necessarily determined by how much we
achieve, but rather, how better we perform in comparison to others… If I am
lying, one should just look at our education system. This may not be the case,
but in my country, all the way from kindergarten a child understands that true
success is when he or she beats all pupils in her class, and of course, the top
pupil will be rewarded, and the bottom pupil will be encouraged to pull up their
socks. This leaves no room to appreciate diversity in the sense that one pupil
could be good in one area, or even subject area, but poor in another, and hence
the need to appreciate his achievement as well. I am not a curriculum
specialist, so I should not be quoted, I know some who are good at it. But maybe
very much honored and appreciated “prof D.N.W” can agree with me on this, being
an expert in this field. Unfortunately,
we carry along with us this competitive spirit in life way after school without
knowing it.
Now what am I saying? What I am saying is that, when
you realize that you want to realize certain milestones in life, in most cases,
you are doing this because you have seen others doing it and you want to be
like them if not better. Huh! And so, back to my illustration of my dream Range
Rover Vogue… the thing is good to have, but what motive informs my desire for the
car? If it is to serve a specific purpose that another car wouldn’t serve, I would
gladly go for it… And sure enough, I believe, and I know that there could be
some occasions in future, when the Range Rover would come in handy for me. However,
if acquiring the car is just meant for me to achieve a certain status, then I am
certainly headed down the drain.
To begin with, in this society we live in, where
everyone is in competition, you will never outmatch anyone… that’s a hard
lesson I have come to learn. Everything is dynamically changing. I am a
computer engineer, and I recently just realized that I am way behind technology
and at the moment I am trying my best to be abreast with the latest
developments. Every single day technological advancement is exponentially growing.
In fact, this morning (yes this morning) I just dreamt that I was somewhere and
some friends were installing Visual Studio 2018 (doesn’t exist) on their
computers and I felt I needed to upgrade, but I couldn’t get a copy of the
software… you should have seen my frustration then. FYI, the very Range Rover
that I am talking about is also evolving… by the time I get to the point of
getting one, the one trending will be a totally different model. I really have
to work hard if I am to get there…
In light of all I have discussed above, below are 3
points that will help us live and operate with biblical stewardship in mind:
1. Acknowledge
that all things belong to God, and we’re just but managers
Psalms 24:1 The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein
Everything belongs to God, and that
includes my body, my family, my money, my talents my work, my environment, my
country, animals, vegetation, rocks, seas… anything humanly imaginable. Once we
understand this, we realize that we own nothing, including the packet of salt
you just bought this morning. When it is in your hand, it only means God has
seen it fit for you to be its manager at the present time. So next time before
you claim that anything is yours, first acknowledge that it belongs to God. He is
therefore the one to determine how you are going to use it. If you have money,
before spending it, it is important for you to ask yourself what God would want
you to do with it. If he tells you to buy those latest Air
Jordan 5 Low Alternate 90 sneakers, we praise God! You will be doing it in
obedience.
2. The
need to take good care of what God has given us and ensure its sustainability
1 Corinthians 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful
One question that many Christians
are not able to answer is when they are asked why they do neither take alcohol
nor smoke. I personally thank God that He helped me understand why I should not
take alcohol, as an act of stewardship. Having learnt that everything belongs
to God, including my body and that I should be faithful in taking good care of
it, I have no choice but to keep my body healthy at all times. This means
eating well, doing plenty of exercise and avoiding by all means deliberately
exposing my body to anything that will harm it. The harmful effects of alcohol
and cigarettes are public knowledge, and it only takes common sense to keep
them at bay. In the same way, we would not want to expose anything divinely
apportioned to us for His noble use to anything that would compromise its
value. Hence using our resources extravagantly with no concern for the future is
an act of disobedience to God. This calls us to invest wisely and avoid
mismanaging God’s property.
The spirit of the age today is that
of impulsive buying, and the ads around us make us believe that we need what we
do not need. We thus end up spending God’s money and resources on what we don’t
need, consequently misusing what would have gone into something more
constructive. So, next time you send that text that deducts KES 25 or something
from your phone to enter into that lottery game, ask yourself how that KES 25,
however small to you it is, would put food on the table of a poor widow in a
remote village somewhere in Kenya and bring glory to God.
3. Ask
yourself how what you do will impact God’s kingdom and eternity
Luke 16:1-13: The parable of the shrewd manager, Matt 25:14-30: The parable of the talents
Lastly, as someone said, and I believe
it is true… the only thing we can get with us out of this life is a soul (with
regard to Christ’s words in Matt 16:26). It really doesn’t profit us to gain
everything and lose our own souls. This and other scriptures encourage us to
have a heavenly, eternal focus. Sadly enough, many Christians do not live their
lives with an eternal perspective. For quite some time I had trouble
understanding the parable of the shrewd manager… how refreshing it was to me
when I came to learn its truth in entirety. This is a guy who realizes that his
days with his employer are numbered, and he can neither dig nor beg, the only
thing he would do out there to survive. He therefore opts for a brilliant plan,
making friends with his employer’s debtors so that when he leaves his employer’s
service they can make room for him. In other words, he was investing in them,
thinking about the future.
Unfortunately, for many of us, we
never take time to think about eternity, despite the constant reminders we are
given in the bible. All we are concerned about is “our best life now” as our
popular authors have encouraged us to believe. We are caught up in this
misleading notion that we have a very long time to stay here on earth. Instead of
investing in eternity, we are investing here on earth where moths and rats
destroy, and thieves break and steal (Matt 6:19). Trust me, God will require an
account of our investments.
It is not too late for us to have a
paradigm shift in this area of stewardship. It is quite possible for us to
invest our time, resources, skills, knowledge, money, property, talents etc in
eternity. And in eternity we only invest in one thing… souls. Starting with our
own souls then the souls of others. And this is not very difficult to achieve. Could
you consider doing the following:
·
Instead of buying that expensive suit,
buy a cheaper one of a good enough quality and use the extra cash to help that poor
village-mate top up for the school fees of their child who is going to form 1,
and help them understand that it is the love of Christ that made you do that.
·
Rather than only spending most of your
time with your best friend discussing the highest paid footballer (nothing
wrong with that), also help them understand the depth of Christ’s love for them and
that He’s giving them a privilege to be part of His kingdom.
·
Instead of buying that KES 2M car,
consider a cheaper alternative of, maybe, half that amount that would still serve you well and use the rest of the
amount to contribute for the missionary in Marsabit to get a good off-road car
that would help him move around the rough terrain as he reaches out to the
scattered unreached Rendille populace.
·
With the good house that God has granted
you, consider inviting your neighbors over for a cup of tea as you share with
them the gospel or doing bible study together, encouraging one another on in
the faith.
·
As a young man in high school, instead
of taking a full loaf everyday, you can consider taking half a loaf in one day
of the week and save the rest to support a missionary friend in the coastal
region (you will be shocked at how much you are able to give).
·
Take of a few minutes in your day to
pray for an unreached people group.
·
Purpose to set aside a portion of your
income, however small for a start, to support a mission agency etc
The list above is illustrative
rather than exhaustive, hence there are many other practical, creative ways to
be involved in investing into eternity and winning souls for Christ.
I cannot finish this article
without acknowledging, and I had purposed to do this, the inspiration I get
from my brother Henry (who celebrated his 45th birthday 2 days ago)
in this area of stewardship. I honestly, though he may not know this,
appreciate his love for God, his devotion to his service, and his philosophy (he
knows what am talking about here, especially with regard to my dream car) of
life that makes me realize am not alone…
I, personally, do struggle in this
area, but my continuous prayer is that God will deliver me from my small
ambitions and dreams, and replace them with greater ambitions for His kingdom…
It is also my prayer for you…
