Greetings, Guardians of Time and Treasure!
We are launching into a brand-new week with James, our seasoned life hacker, In his epistle’s fourth and fifth chapters (James 4:13-5:6), we will chart our course through the exciting realms of Chronos and Currency, of Future and Finance, or just plain “time and money”. This is the realm of Stewardship. Stewardship? Now, that’s a word you don’t hear in everyday conversation unless you’re a Hobbit entrusted with the One Ring. But in our Christian walk, stewardship is a significant part of the gig – it’s all about how we manage the time and resources God has entrusted to us.
Now, hold on to your calendars and checkbooks! We’re not just navigating the rough seas of financial planning or daily planner scheduling. James is digging deep, hitting right where the “X” marks the spot: our hearts. Yup! Our hearts, the epicenter of our desires and motives. Flashback to James’s profound revelation in the last episode: the cause of our troubles lies in our selfish desires (epithumia) and selfish motives (James 4:2-3). It’s not that we desire wrong things, but we desire even the right things wrongly, too excessively, making good things ultimate things. It’s the same rudder of our “time and treasure” ship.
Being a steward, a guardian, isn’t about owning stuff. It’s about managing, investing, and utilizing what we have been entrusted with – our resources, both time and money – according to the Owner’s will, God’s will. But when our hearts are consumed with our plans and profits, as James notes here in The Tale of the Traveling Merchant (James 4:13-5:6), we tend to overlook what God wants us to do with our calendars and checkbooks. We cast off our steward hats and crown ourselves kings. We forget that we are not owners, that our time and treasure are not ours to use according to our whims and wishes. Instead, they are entrusted to us by God, who expects us to use them wisely, generously, and for His glory.
As Guardians of Time and Treasure, our first task is to check for the heart issue, our “epithumia”. The very same selfish desire that causes conflicts can also sink our ship, stewardship that is. We must steer clear of the selfish desire icebergs and navigate our resources toward God’s kingdom, bearing the fruits of love, justice, and generosity. Let’s start by conducting a heart-check, asking God to replace our selfish desires with His will and purpose.
So, here’s the big question for this week: Is your desire leading you to manage your time and money wisely according to God’s will?
I don’t believe our desires ever really lead us to spend our time and money wisely according to God’s will. That is why God gives us guidelines (like tithing) to help us, which I believe if we follow we will move towards the desire that God has for us. I have found my mind and heart with enough time and rationalization can compromise or even justify my own selfish desires to frame them as if they are God’s will. Like Jeremiah 17:9 states, “the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure”. Understanding our nature I find helps me to hold myself accountable in constantly seeking God’s will for our lives.
Good morning and happy Monday. The truth is I fall short on spending money and time on my own epithumia: food. I pray oh God you lead me today and into the week to replace my own selfish desires with your will and purpose. I pray that i be reminded this week to come to you wholeheartedly and Lord please guide me through this week to be able to manage my time better as well as my spending, thinking before my actions if this is more the glory of God. Have a great day everyone.
I must admit that at times, there are shortcomings to the way I spend my time and money in accordance to God’s will. There are times when my selfish desires get in the way of how I spend my time and money, not acknowledging God in the things that I do. Yesterday’s message led me to reflect and conduct a heart-check; it was a humbling reminder that everything belongs to God, time and money included. It is my prayer that I shift and refocus my desires to follow God’s will, and to use my resources wisely to bring glory to God.
(from Alan)
Howdy y’all !
Well, I’m the worse at this! My time is divided into helping at my family donut store, my son, and my parents, and god.( my morning and night prayers along with church). I know or it seems as god’s time is what I give least too but I hope he’s understanding for all the time the rest of my responsibilities take up. It seems like all these little chores or errands that I do just take up all my time and whenever I get a chance to escape them I splurge. Maybe escaping is the wrong term but most of the time that’s how I feel. I admit I can’t handle stresses very well and I’m sure that talking to God and being in the word does help but then my human needs do sneak in and I kinda let loose. So ya I suck at managing money maybe that’s why I’m so broke all the time!! As for time management I’m pretty bad at that too. I’m just praying that god helps me find a way for me to do all I need to do without neglecting my duties to God. I don’t blame anyone for where I am in life because they were my choices and I decided to party and didn’t use the time wisely so now I have to put in more work. I pray for the strength to be strong at the times when I feel like i dont have that time so I don’t relapse or to fall back to my old ways of finding the easy way out! God is good! All the time and all the time God is great!! Have a wonderful week fellaz!
Alan
I do not think that my desire leads me to manage my time and money wisely according to God’s will, at least not always. When I was thinking about yesterday’s warship opening question, the answer was that I spent my time and money on education, rent, and food. And I realized that I prayed for God and I attempted to hear His guide but not spend my money on Him. But, I believe, that is why God always gives us His forgiveness and mercy so that I can become the person who strives to manage my time and money wisely according to His will. It’s important to reflect on our choices and align them with God’s teachings. By seeking His guidance and making conscious efforts to prioritize Him in our financial decisions, we can grow closer to Him and fulfill His purpose for our lives.