Last month, I discussed how to be good stewards of our money. This month, I will explain how to be good stewards of ourselves. If you haven’t read Part 1, I would recommend doing so before reading this article.
· Ourselves
God gave us the greatest gift of all – life through His Son. The least we could do is give Him the greatest gift we can: our lives. To be good stewards of our lives, we must start by responsibly caring for our bodies, both physically and spiritually.
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”
1 Cor. 6:19-20
“Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.”
Romans 6:11-13
“Keep awake, and pray that you may not enter into temptation: the spirit is right willing, but the body is frail.”
Matthew 26:41
Take care of your body. Treat it like the treasure it is. That means not filling our bodies with unhealthy substances. It also means not filling our minds with corrupt thoughts. Also, be cautious about things that tempt you. In order to honor God with our bodies, we must “flee from evil things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness and gentleness” (1 Timothy 6:11).
Giving of our lives requires us to love God above anything else. When we love God with all of our heart, we will have a desire to serve Him no matter what. And He has given us each gifts that can help us serve Him. Jesus told a parable about a master who gave talents to his servants:
“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’
His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’
His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’ For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 25:14-30
God has entrusted us with His creation. If we are not faithful caretakers of His property, there will be just consequences. How can we expect God to trust us with His treasures in Heaven when we are not responsible with the little we have here on earth?
“And the Lord said, ‘Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.’”
Luke 12:42-44
Be on the lookout for next month’s article, Part 3!
Did you know that Heather is learning to crochet?!
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