We are living in a “selfie” world, where the attention is drawn to ourselves. We strive to possess what we can call our own. My friends, my mobile, my possessions, my money, my….
We think that it is because of our hard labor at work that we were able to buy a house that we can call our own. We think that we have a good job because of our educational qualifications or our influences. We think that we can plan and determine our own destinies. As a result our lives are characterized more by self-sufficiency than dependence on God.
But the Bible says that we own nothing. Ecclesiastes 5 verse 15 (NLT) says “We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can't take our riches with us.”
Michael Huffington so clearly puts it “When we die our money, fame, and honors will be meaningless. We own nothing in this world. Everything we think we own is in reality only being loaned to us until we die. And on our deathbed at the moment of death, no one but God can save our souls.”
If nothing belongs to us, we are only to be stewards of what has been entrusted to us.
How will this principle of we own nothing affect our lives here on earth?
It is a very liberating thought because it sets us free from being tied up to our possessions or being caught in the rat race for more and more possessions. We think that the more possessions we can call our own, we have really made it in life. But the desire to accumulate never ends, and this kind of striving always brings with it concern about how to keep what we have or how to protect it from others who may want it.
It also releases us from the rat race of striving for more since we know that our heavenly Father will meet all our needs.
Once we recognize that He owns everything that we have, it also brings with it a responsibility to be wise stewards of what God has given to us.
 
Quote: “Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment, is given you by God. If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively to His service, you could not give Him anything that was not in a sense His own already.” – C.S. Lewis
 
Prayer: Lord, what a liberating thought to know that since You own everything and I am Your child, You will meet my every need. Thank you for showing me that all that I have is from You. Help me to use it all very wisely for Your kingdom. Amen
 
Scripture
Psalms 24:1-2
Ecclesiastes 5:15

In today’s world, we often use the word manager rather than being a steward.  But the word stewardship means “carefully and responsibly managing something entrusted to one’s care.”
Before sin entered the human race, God created a garden and entrusted two people with the responsibility to care for it. In Genesis 1 verse 28, we read that God created the earth and asked man to look after it. The earth was entrusted to man to manage it.
But when sin entered into the world, man thought that he was the owner and as a result forgot his responsibility of being managers.
What do we manage?
Firstly, we must realize that our very lives are entrusted to us by God. Therefore, being good managers means that we live for His pleasure and not ours.  However, living in the worldview that one has to strive to get to the top, we can forget the God-given responsibility of being a manager and live like this life belonged to us and we can do with it what we or the world wants us to do.
Secondly, think of the resources that God has entrusted us with. It could be a house, a car, some money in the bank, a smartphone, a laptop, books, shoes, etc.
Do we think of these resources that we are managing as belonging to God? Or do we think of them as our own?
We really don’t own anything. We didn’t come into this world with anything and we are not going to take anything out of this world. All that we have is a gift.
This is extremely important! We will never honor and glorify God until we settle this truth into our hearts and minds.
Would our thinking drastically change if we would consider that we are only managers of these God-given resources? It sure would. We would cease to be hoarders, we would ask God of how we should be handling the resources; we would have less worries to keep up with the Jones’. In other words, life will take on a whole new dimension, revolving around God instead of ourselves.
The key to be a good manager is to hand over ownership of all resources that we have, including our very lives to God. If you think this is tough, think of the alternative–stay a rat in the rat race.
Ask yourself, are you a good manager?
 
Quote: “The Christian shoemaker does his duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship.” ― Martin Luther
 
Prayer: Lord, what do you want me to do today with all You have entrusted me with, to honor you, and to advance Your Kingdom? Help me to be a good manager. Amen
 
Scripture
Genesis 1:28
1 Corinthians 4:7
Matthew 25:14-30

Our times are in His hand as Psalm 31 verses 15 tells us. So we must make the best use of the time that God gives to us each day.
We must seize every opportunity God gives us “as long as it is still called ‘Today’” (Hebrews 3:13). This concept is called “stewardship.”
Ephesians 5:16 tells us to redeem our time. We must make wise and sacred use of every opportunity for doing good, so that zeal and well doing are as it were the purchase money by which we make the time our own. Thus, we will be good managers of our time.
It is God’s desire that we organize our time according to the priorities of God first, others (spouse, children, family, and then friends) and myself second When we adjust our time to our God-given priorities, we find much more satisfaction in life because we are focusing on what really matters, namely our relationships with those we love and care about.
God has made each one of us uniquely different. Our natural talents and spiritual gifts are given to us by God. So we must seek for ways we could use these to build His kingdom.
But the sad reality is that many people have never really explored who God has made us to be. The abilities are there but are never discovered and never utilized, or we take it for granted not thinking that it is anything special. Most people have not tapped into all the potential God has given us. That is a bad manager. A good manager knows what he is entrusted with and manages it well.
Not only are we born with natural abilities, but also the Bible tells us we are given special abilities called spiritual gifts. The Holy Spirit gives us these special gifts as he chooses to build up His kingdom. God creates every person with natural abilities; however, spiritual gifts are given only to those who have faith in Christ. It is indeed very sad that few people have known and are using the spiritual gifts that God has given them.
One of Satan’s most effective delusions is the idea that happiness consists in the things that we possess. Through his deceitfulness, he has erected a golden calf, an idol called materialism. But we must realize that money cannot buy happiness. Money cannot give eternal life nor real meaning in life
Our treasure belongs to God. It is not our money, but it is His money that He has given to us. So we must make wise eternal investments. By giving back a portion of what we have received from Him, we’re acknowledging His ownership of it.
 
Quote: “When you invest your time, talent and treasure in the eternal, your investments have a divine return.” Tony Evans
 
Prayer: Lord help me to be a good manager of the time, talent and treasure that you have entrusted me with. Amen
 
Scripture
Psalms 31:5
Ephesians 5:15-16
Matthew 25:14-30

In the parable of the talents, we find that the master commended the first two servants for their faithfulness. But when he came to the third one, we find that his basic attitudes towards the master itself were wrong and as a result, he was reprimanded.
Our behaviors and actions show what we believe to be true about God. The third servant’s belief about his master was that he was a harsh man and as a result he was afraid. This obviously was an unhealthy fear. Not a fear of reverence and honor, but of punishment. This servant seemed more worried about himself than the care of his master’s things. He offered excuses for his lack of action.
Our understanding about God will often hinder us from being good managers. Our God is not waiting with a stick to punish us, but He is a God who loves us and wants us to make the best of all that He has given to us.
Another hindrance to being good managers is just plain laziness. A good steward makes use of every opportunity. A bad steward wastes every opportunity.
Note the contrast between the verbs used for the five- and two-talent servants and those used for the one-talent servant:
• The five- and two-talent servants “went,” (v. 16) whereas the one-talent servant “went away.”
• The five- and two-talent servants “traded” with the money that had been entrusted to them, while the one-talent servant “dug in the earth”.
• The five- and two-talent servants “made” additional talents, but the one-talent man “hid” his master’s money.
The verbs used for the five- and two-talent servants are progressive (“went off at once”—“traded”—“made”), whereas the verbs used for the one-talent servant are regressive (“went away”—“dug in the earth”—“hid”)
The sins of omission is as dangerous as the sins of commission. When we know what we have to do but do not do it, it is being a bad manager.
We tend to think that God is in control of some aspects of our lives, but not all. When we think more about ownership rather than stewardship, we become selfish, not wanting to share with others. We become proud not realizing that all we have is a gift from God. We can also become ungrateful, focusing more on what we do not have, rather than being thankful for what we do have. We become shortsighted and think more of this life than the life to come.
All these wrong attitudes lead to being bad managers.
 
Quote: “There is no telling how much power God can put into a man. When divine strength comes, human weakness is no more a hindrance.” – Charles Spurgeon
 
Prayer : Lord, help me to be a good manager, making use of every opportunity that You give me and not be lazy and waste it. Amen
Scripture:
Matthew 25
Matthew 25:14-30

Have you ever walked through a door that had an EXIT sign over it, not sure what awaited you on the other side? Many people are not sure what lies beyond the grave. But how you live your today will impact your tomorrow when you exit this life.
We weren’t created just to live on earth for 60 or 80 years. Everyone who is born on earth is headed toward eternity. You are headed toward eternity. You were made for it. You are meant to experience eternity in the fullness of life with God. For a Christian, death does not exist. Death is simply the doorway you must pass through to eternity.
Stewardship of life means that we live our lives in the light of eternity.
Paul understood this when he wrote about what our true ambition should be, whether at home or absent—to “be pleasing to Him.” Paul said that because he lived with his heart fixed on eternity. Accordingly, he wanted to spend his time in a way that pleased God.
Firstly, when you live for eternity, you discover meaning and hope in today as pleasing God becomes your purpose.
So, when you live your life in the light of eternity, life here on earth becomes full of meaning.
Secondly, since there is an accountability factor built into being a manager, there is the promise of a future reward for being a good manager.
In the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:21-23, we read that the master praised the servants who had been good managers, but in verses 24-30, we also read of the results of being bad managers.
The Bible speaks about rewards and crowns. But the best accolade will be to hear from the Master,” Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord.”
But we must also remember that the master in the parable also punished the servant who hid his talent and wasted his opportunity to make a profit.
Similarly, the Bible also speaks about the punishment for those who have been bad managers, when the Lord will say,” Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity.”
There is no second chance given. Hence, we must make the best use of this life and be good stewards of it.
 
Quote: “I would not give one moment of heaven for all the joy and riches of the world, even if it lasted for thousands and thousands of years.” – Martin Luther
 
Prayer: Lord, knowing that there is an eternity and also an accounting, help me to be a good steward of the life that You have given me.  Amen
Scripture:
Matthew 25:21-30
2 Corinthians 5:9-10
Hebrews 9:27

Every manager must be expected to be evaluated by his superiors When you live with an eternal perspective, you also realize that you’re held accountable to God for how you invest the gift of your very life.
Because of man’s sinful nature, man wants to be God rather than be held accountable by God. God is distorted by the human mind into man’s own image and thus everything becomes permissible. This self-centered view of life leads to a miserable state of slavery to sin rather than freedom and joyful obedience to God.
Freedom is not what you want to do, but the power to do what is right. It is the truth of accountability that grants us true freedom.
Today, we live in a time when having fundamentally rejected the absolutes and clear teachings of Scripture, man seeks to make God accountable to him for his comfort and pleasure.
Jesus emphatically taught that a day of judgment is coming when every person will have to give an account. In Matthew 12:36, He said, “I tell you that on the day of judgment, people will give an account for every worthless word they speak.”
The Prophet Amos spoke to the prosperous nation of Israel who sensed no need for anything spiritual. Amos asked a penetrating question: Do you put off the day of calamity? —Amos 6:3
These were people who may have recognized a time of accountability to God would come, but they did not believe it was near. So they gave themselves up to a life of spiritual insensitivity, material gluttony, and sensuality. .
How can we prepare ourselves for the day of accountability?
The writer of Hebrews summed it up when he said, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25-25). God has places us in His body, the church, so that we are accountable to each other and can build one another..
Early African converts to Christianity were earnest and regular in private devotions. Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God. Over time, the paths to these places became well worn. As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect prayer, it was soon be apparent to the others. They would kindly remind the negligent one, “Brother, the grass grows on your path.”
Biblical accountability begins with taking responsibility for your actions and behaviors and making a decision to allow others to help you do what is right.
God wants us to be good stewards of the life that He has given to us. One day we will be accountable to Him for the life we have lived. Let us prepare ourselves today.
 
Quote: “Although we have responsibilities to others, we are primarily accountable to God. It is before him that we stand, and to him that one day we must give an account. We should not therefore rate human opinion too highly, becoming depressed when criticized and elated when flattered.” – John Stott 
 
Prayer: Lord, I thank You that You want the best for me. Help me to take stock of my life today so that I can give my best to You. Amen
Scripture:
Matthew 12:36
Amos 6:3
Hebrews 10:24-25

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