TBT #2 - The Litmus Test of Stewardship (or Confessions of a Packrat)

Attending the Springs this weekend and hearing the teaching on Being Rich and recognizing how rich I really am as an American (even an unemployed American), I was reminded of this post from 4 years ago. We have so much.  Honestly, I've lost or squandered more than some people will ever have.  I am blessed and yes, I am rich!

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The Litmust Test of Stewardship

(or Confessions of a Packrat)

I have in my car this little placard that sits on my dashboard.  It's backward, so if you look at it or try to read it, it makes no sense. However, if you're seated in the car looking out the windshield, its reflection reads perfectly.  It has a verse on it to help me meditate on the goodness of God.  The verse right now is 1Timothy 6:17 -

"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment."

Being an average American (maybe being an American at all) qualifies you and I as being rich.  Let's face it, unless you earn less than $62/month, you are wealthier than 51% of the world.  If you earn $63/month or more, you're doing very well.  :)  But wealth is not only a subjective concept, it's also uncertain.  Whoever said "easy come, easy go" was only half right.  Here today and gone tomorrow unless you plan well, so wherever you are on the wealth continuum, you'd better have your hope and trust in the Lord Who is our ultimate Source.  He provides, not just the money, but the job, the ability, the time, the talent required to perform your duty for profit.  As the Psalm says, "all my fountains are in You."  Every source for every thing (physical, spiritual, emotional, etc.) is found in Christ alone, for in Him we live and move and have our being, for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.  God provides everything, and His purpose for doing so is also the litmus test of our stewardship. 

Staring back at me from my windshield on that crazy placard are the words "He richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment."

Enjoyment?  I had to ask myself, "Self, do you enjoy everything you have?  Is it bringing you joy and pleasure?"  If God gave me all things to enjoy, am I enjoying all things I have?  and if not, why?"  The answers were troubling.  Every time I could think of something in my life that I did not enjoy, it came down to the fact that I hadn't managed it well, it was in disrepair or was neglected.  Every unenjoyable part of my life (past and present) was an area where I had struggled with the principle of stewardship. 

There have been periods of my life when I didn't enjoy tithing.  Why?  Because I was managing money so poorly I was anxious all the time.  There have been jobs I did not enjoy.  Why?  Because I lost sight of the fact that God had me there for a reason and I was ultimately working for Him.  I've had relationships I didn't enjoy because I had either neglected them or neglected the necessary maintenance of forgiveness and honesty.  I've had cars I didn't enjoy and places to live I hated either because they were so broken down and neglected that no one could enjoy them or because I just failed to remember that God gave them to me.  I was ungrateful!

And it's not just the neglected things.  It was also the things I had too much of that I couldn't enjoy.  I have an entire closet in my house of storage that I haven't unpacked in 2 years.  Am I enjoying all those possessions?  No, because I have too much stuff.  It's just as egregiously poor stewardship as not tithing.  I've tied up God's money in things that have no value or use to me.  I couldn't possibly enjoy everything I have, because I have too much!  Wouldn't it be better stewardship to give those things to someone who would actually use them and enjoy them?  I have some serious de-cluttering of my life to do!  I have more than I could possibly enjoy. 

Look around at the richness of your life and ask the following questions: 

• Am I enjoying everything God gave me as He intended me to?
• Has poor stewardship robbed me of the enjoyment He intended for me?  
• Has an ungrateful heart kept me from enjoying what He's given me?
• Do I have more stuff than I could possibly enjoy and therefore need to simplify my possessions?   

Not all fun questions, but the more often I ask these questions of myself, the more likely I am to realize how rich I am, to be grateful, to look up at the needs of others rather than me, and to live a simplified life that finds sufficiency in Him rather than in pursuing more stuff.