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I once had a college professor whose motto was, “Do the best that you can in the time that you have.” When it comes to serving our Lord through serving one another, this motto expresses our responsibility as stewards of our time. However, time is not the only thing we have been given by God to steward for His glory. We have also been given resources – financial or otherwise – and talents. So, God calls the Christian to this, “Do the best that you can in the time that you have with the talents and resources with which the Lord has entrusted you.”
We often think of stewardship as applying primarily to our money. We know that the Lord has given us money and the responsibility to use that money in a way that honours Him. This is true, but it is a very narrow view of stewardship. Truly, we are stewards of everything that we have. Giving a portion of our money to the Lord’s work and being responsible with the rest is good, but it is not enough. God calls us to give glory to Him in the way we spend our time and treasures as well.
Of course we cannot spend all of our time “doing service” any more than we can put 100% of our income in the giving box in the back of the church. So how much time, treasure, and talent do we give? The exact amount is not a matter that Scripture dictates. There is no Second Opinions 3:12 that states, “Thou shalt give 4.7 hours out of each day and 17 cents out of each dollar you earn to the service of the body.” However, our stewardship principles are to give cheerfully, often, and sacrificially. That will necessarily look different for every person in this room. Remember that we are primarily responsible to Jesus, not other people. We cannot give less than we ought because we are giving more than someone else; and we cannot judge another person just because they do not appear to give as much as we do. However, we can and must encourage one another to give of our time, talents, and treasure to the best of our ability.
There is always a danger to get so caught up in the doing that we forget why we serve. Let us all remember why we are called to serve as stewards. We are stewards primarily because of two things. First, God is our Creator, so we exist for His glory, not the other way around. Second, as Christians, we have been bought with a price and are now slaves of Jesus Christ. So as redeemed creatures, we are doubly responsible for what we do with our time, treasure, and talents. It is my sincere hope that when our works are judged and our stewardship evaluated, that we will be those whose works stand as gold, silver, and precious stones and are not burned up as wood, hay, or stubble (1 Cor 3.12-15).
I have been debating whether to keep this blog or just let it go. After much deliberation, I have decided to keep it for several reasons.
First, as a good Reformed Protestant Christian, I believe that every good and perfect gift is from the Father (Jas. 1.17) – this includes writing. I do not believe that every talent and ability is a “spiritual gift”, but every gift – spiritual or otherwise – is from God. With that being the case, the conscious and thankful use of a gift points to the giver. That means that when I use a skill that God has given me and use it for God’s sake, He is glorified.
Second, I enjoy writing.
Third, writing helps me organize and categorize my thoughts so that I can better express them to others. It makes me a better thinker and communicator. Hopefully, by putting some writings on a blog, others will also be able to use them to challenge or clarify their own thinking.
Fourth, one should never start something that he does not plan to finish. Why start a blog without a plan to update it.
So yes, I will be keeping the blog. I will probably change the URL, but I will keep it up.
Soli Deo Gloria 