A Closer Walk

"No one has ever been able to explain to me how you can save money by spending it." This remark was made to me years ago by a man who grew up during the Great Depression. Obviously this statement made an impression on me because I still remember it today lo these many years later. After pondering this for a lot of years no explanation has come to mind as to how a person can actually save money by spending it. It's only unspent money that we are able to save or invest. We have the freedom to spend our money in any way we choose. But we can only do it once. When it is spent it is gone, and we no longer have access to it. Obviously we all have needs as human beings for food, water, shelter, and clothing. Our God created work to enable us to provide for those needs. And that points us toward stewardship.
What is a steward? In Biblical times a steward was the manager or overseer of another's property. Joseph was The Steward for Pharaoh King of Egypt. He answered to no one except the Pharaoh. And he was over everything and everyone in the kingdom. Another example of stewards can be found in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. From this passage we learn that a man called three of his servants to him. To one he gave five talents, to another he gave two talents, and to the third servant he gave one talent. Then he left on a trip. After a long time he returned and again called the three servants to him for an accounting of what they had accomplished in his absence. The one who received the five talents had made five more. The one who had received the two talents had made two more. These two servants pleased their master greatly and they received more because of their diligence. The one who had received one talent had buried what was entrusted to him in the ground so as to not lose it. His actions were not pleasing to the master and the one talent was taken from him.
What does our Heavenly Father instruct us about our own personal stewardship of the resources He has entrusted to us? "Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy," 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 NASB. It is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy. Worthy of trust. The King James uses the word faithful rather than trustworthy. Faithful is good also. Both words denote diligence and caution, but also moving forward or making progress. The two stewards who engaged in business and doubled what their Master had entrusted to them were told, "Well done good and faithful servant," Matthew 25:21 and 23.
Each of us has been blessed with resources by our Heavenly Father. As with the two faithful servants we are expected to use those resources for the Glory of God. To provide for ourselves and our families, and to further His Kingdom. We should pay all our bills. We should save for a rainy day. We should invest for the future; even though we may have more life behind us than we do in front of us. If we have saved and invested faithfully throughout our working lives and are able to live off the nest egg we have built, that is okay as well.
So we are commanded to be trustworthy and faithful servants. To provide for ourselves and our families. To support the local church where we worship and serve. To further the Kingdom of God by supporting missions and missionaries as well as organizations and charities that we believe in. Some of those probably should be local and some perhaps far away. We can also help and support what our Lord chooses to put right in front of us. Local or nearby disasters, or fires or tornadoes that wreaked havoc among our fellow Kansans or our families who might live far away.
And we should continue to be trustworthy and faithful with our nest egg and our saving and investing so that we can continue to provide for ourselves and our future. And when our Lord calls us home, maybe even leave something for our children and grandchildren; and maybe a favorite charity or two.
“Let a man so account of us, as the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful,” 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 KJV.
“Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness, Sowing in the noontide and the dewey eve; Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping, We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. Bringing in the sheaves, Bringing in the sheaves, we shall come rejoicing bringing in the sheaves; Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves, we shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.” Words and music by Knowles Shaw, 1834-1878. Sourced from Hymnary.
For those who may not know, back in the days when harvesting was done with a scythe and a sickle. A sheave was a bunch of grain stalks, such as wheat or milo, bound together to make a sheave. The reapers would pass through a field and cut down the stalks of grain. Then a group of sheavers would pass through bundling and tying the stalks together to make a sheave. Several sheaves, usually three to eight, standing upright together form a stook, and they are then allowed to dry. After drying they are gathered and taken to a barn for storage and further drying, then they are taken for threshing to separate the grain from the stalks. Today all these tasks are done by a combine (hence the name?) in one pass. Sourced from Wikipedia.