"He is trusting us with certain resources; He as owner and we as stewards. We should never pretend that we have rights to what is not ours. Be a conduit of His blessing, not a dead end."Think about that one for a minute! All of the blessings that God pours out on us daily are to be used for His glory. They are not to be completely soaked up for our pleasure. Ultimately, God wants the blessings we receive to be used to bless others. I, for one, have probably thought that way in my head, but in reality, I have lived more like the sponge. Instead of a steward of what He has given, I have been a hoarder of His blessings. We, especially in a wealthy country like America, tend to see our money as "ours." We work for it, it belongs to us, but in reality all we have belongs to God.
It is so simplistic on an intellectual level, but living it out every day is much harder. It is counter-cultural to live in a way that does not promote buying, spending, and getting the newest and best of everything. Being intentional with our money means that planning out a budget may look different than it ever has before. The only way to break money's power of control over our lives, Swenson says, is to give it away. How challenging! I'm intrigued by this idea, even if I'm still a little terrified at the same time, which only serves to underscore the power that money still has on me.
I once read a quote that says, "You can have anything, but you can't have everything." How true! Any "one" thing might be attainable if I devote all my strength, energy, intellect, money, and time to it. But all other things will be sacrificed for it. Our calling is to reclaim this fallen world for Christ until he returns to take us home. That should be our "one" thing. All other pursuits outside of that are for sustaining us and strengthening ourselves, our families, and others in this effort. If other things become "the thing" - if the pursuit of money becomes our thing - our life takes on a very different slant. Contentment becomes unattainable when you can have anything you want. You will always want one more thing. It is such an irony, but it is true. Things will never ever bring contentment.
The end of the chapter on creating financial margin in our lives ends very beautifully and simply:
"Money belongs to God. Wealth belongs to God. The Kingdom belongs to God. We belong to God. Margin belongs to God. Only the choice belongs to us."It is only an illusion to think that anything on this earth "belongs" to us. Truly the only thing we truly possess is our free will - our choice. What will that choice be regarding what God has entrusted in our care for a season?
