All of us are stewards of what God has entrusted us with. Whether it is our finances, time, families or any other responsibility, we need to make wise choices, when it comes to stewardship. Yesterday, I blogged about what it means for us to be good stewards of our finances. In order to do so, we need to be content in Christ, and we need to be sure that He is the One that we treasure (Luke 12:33-34). 1 Timothy 6:6-8 says, “godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.” We also need to guard our hearts from the love of money. “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs (1Timothy 6:9-10).” Lastly, we need to ensure that we are not making an idol out of money, wealth and possessions. In Matthew 6:24, Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
Another important aspect of our lives that we need to be good stewards of is our time. With all of the distractions of this world, the responsibilities in our lives, and all that we are involved in, we need to take an honest look at what is consuming our time? Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” It’s important that we seek God before making decisions in our lives that will take up our time. We need to make sure that we are actually bearing fruit in our lives, as opposed to just being busy. In John 15:16, Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.” We need to take a survey of what we are doing on a daily basis and see if we are bearing good fruit. Are we living in a way that is pleasing to the Lord? Are we doing thing’s to pour in to our families and relationships? Is our time being consumed with things that are unhealthy, destructive, ungodly, or things that are taking time away from the Lord and those that we love? Let’s take an honest look and see if we are being good stewards of our time, and if we aren’t, then let’s seek the Lord’s guidance.
Just remember that being busy and being fruitful are two different things. I personally believe that “busyness” sometimes comes from the enemy. If Satan can distract us from the important relationships in our lives and from fulfilling God’s plan, trust me, he will distract us. Why is it every time that we ask someone how they are doing, they respond with, “I’m busy.” Is being busy what we are longing to attain in this life? Do we want to be on our death beds and look back and say, “I’m so glad I spent my whole life being busy?” With a culture obsessed with cell phones, social networking, careers and cramming all we can into a week, when are we taking the time to meditate on what matters? Sometimes you have to step back and breath, in order to gain perspective and insight into your life. I know that I have! Remember that God is a God of peace, not chaos. So if there is constant chaos or drama in your life, then you need to consider who is running the show. Maybe it’s time for you to set some healthy boundaries in your life. Setting boundaries are often the key to being good stewards of our time.
We can be too busy in our careers and too busy in our jobs, but what about ministry? I think that a lot of Christian’s look at ministry as being exempt from boundaries, because so many of us feel like we want to put God and others before ourselves. Some of us think that if we have boundaries, then we are somehow being selfish. Women are even worse about this than men, because women are natural care givers. I believe that the idea that we are selfish if we take time for ourselves in ministry couldn’t be further from the truth. If we don’t take time for ourselves, to recharge our batteries, then how can we pour in to the lives of others? When we don’t take time for ourselves, we put ourselves in a vulnerable position where we are open to temptation and attack from the enemy. If we neglect our families for the sake of ministry, then we leave our homes open for attack from the Devil. We have to be wise about how we spend our time and make sure that there is balance in our lives. Ephesians 6 reminds us to take care of ourselves and not let our guard down, because we are in a spiritual battle. Ephesians 6:10-13 says, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” If we don’t take time to fellowship with the Lord or put on God’s armor, then we are setting ourselves up for defeat.
I have to admit that my husband and I have fallen into the trap of being busy on many occasions as well, and I think that it’s time that Christian’s reprioritize their lives. We have personally had to set boundaries and reprioritize when it comes to many things. Being in ministry, it’s easy for us, and many other people, to get caught up in a cycle of “doing” and “going” and getting overwhelmed and exhausted in the process. While ministry is not always easy, I don’t believe it is God’s will to put ministry before our families and loved ones, and I don’t believe it is God’s will to wear ourselves out, ruining our health in the process. Don’t forget, we are God’s temple, and we have to take care of His temple (1 Corinthians 3:17). My husband and I have finally reached a point where we have decided that we are not going to over commit ourselves, we are not going to spread ourselves thin, and we are going to take time to rest and pour in to our marriage and other relationships. Christians need to stop feeling guilty for having boundaries and making healthy decisions to manage their time wisely. Jesus said that we are the light of the world. It’s time for us to get out of the dark and shine our light for Him! We can’t shine our light if our time is being consumed, and we can’t shine our light if we are running on empty. We need to be good stewards of the time that God has given us, because time is fleeting and life is precious.
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