“Once there was a man who was about to leave home on a trip; he called his servants and put them in charge of his property. He gave to each one according to his ability: to one he gave five thousand gold coins, to another he gave two thousand, and to another he gave one thousand. Then he left on his trip.” (Matthew 25:14b-15 GNT)
Jesus says in Matthew 25:14-15, “Once there was a man who was about to leave home on a trip; he called his servants and put them in charge of his property. He gave to each one according to his ability: to one he gave five thousand gold coins, to another he gave two thousand, and to another he gave one thousand. Then he left on his trip” (GNT).
In those days there weren’t any banks, so when this rich man left for his long trip, he entrusted his property to his servants. When he returned, he asked for an account from his servants; he wanted to know what they had done with his money.
This is called stewardship — the old English word for “manager.” The first law of financial freedom is the law of possession: Everything you have belongs to God. You are only a manager!
We are called to be stewards of our time. We are called to be stewards of our influence. We are called to be stewards of our health, our relationships, and our opportunities. Everything you have you are to be steward or manager of.
You may say, “But wait a minute! I worked for my money, and now you want to tell me it isn’t mine?” Where do you think you got your body to work for your money? Where do you think you got your mind to work for it? Where do you think you got the energy to work for it? Where do you think you got the intelligence to work for it? Everything you have is a gift from God. You don’t really own anything in life; it’s all on loan.
You only get to use God’s money while you’re here on Earth. He’s loaned it to you for 80 or so years. He loaned it to somebody before you, and he’s going to loan it to somebody else after you die. You don’t own it; the Master owns it all. It’s all under management.
Do you know what the sign is that you’ve forgotten the law of possession? When you think your money is yours, you worry about it. You feel a pressure and stress that you weren’t meant to have.
Money management is a spiritual discipline. God is actually watching how you handle his money to see what spiritual riches he can trust you with in Heaven. This might make you feel pressure, but there is actually freedom in the law of possession.
When you remember that God is the owner and you are the manager, you’ll worry a whole lot less and focus more on managing God’s money well.
Talk It Over
- If you were the manager of a business, would you have as much pressure to succeed as the owner? Would you still want the business to succeed as much as the owner does? Why or why not?
- What are the qualities of a spiritual discipline? What does it take to learn a spiritual discipline like money management?
- What role does prayer play in your financial decisions? Why is prayer important in money management?
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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
