It's All His Anyway

I remember getting my driver’s license when I was 16. Freedom had finally arrived. I was able to drive to school, to work, and to go out with my friends. I’d even take a drive to clear my head sometimes. I was inching closer to adulthood, and this was a huge step toward that. I also had a gold 1985 Dodge Aries that I drove, and it was all mine……well, not really. The Aries was our third vehicle. I say “our”, but I should probably say “their”. You see, my parents owned that vehicle. They let me use it. I drove it every day. It was “essentially” my car, but not “technically” my car. I was responsible for filling it with gas, getting it washed, and cleaning it out. What I didn’t do, however, was pay for the insurance and maintenance on it. I was only managing my Father’s property. Being a brilliant 16-year-old, though, I thought it was mine.

I drove it for almost two years before my family moved from Northern Ohio to Rockcastle County Kentucky. When my family moved, it was the middle of my Sr. year in high school. I was allowed to stay behind with a friend’s family to finish out the school year. Unfortunately, the 1985 Dodge Aries wasn’t. My parents let me know a couple of weeks before moving that I wouldn’t have a car for the rest of the school year. What I also didn’t know was that my parents were selling the car once they got to KY. I was heartbroken that my last months in high school would be without a vehicle, meaning no dates, no more drives to clear my head, and no more freedom. The thing was, it wasn’t my car. I had no right to it. The fact that my parents let me have it for basically little to nothing for a couple of years was pretty awesome…now that I look back on it. But back then, I felt like my parents were robbing me. They didn’t have the right to take MY car from me. I was hyper possessive with it.

When it comes to stewardship, we can get hyper-possessive with things. Money is probably the biggest thing that we struggle with releasing to God. We’ll give Him our hearts, and our Sundays, we’ll even dedicate our children to Him, but please don’t ask for our money. The issue here isn’t monetary. It’s not even selfishness. It’s a misunderstanding of WHO our possessions actually belong to.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
Colossians 1:15–16

Paul, the author of Colossians, demonstrates here that ALL THINGS were created through and for Christ, who is the Image of God. There is nothing on Earth that doesn’t belong to Him. This is one of the healthiest ways we can look at what we have. This gives us a greater sense of gratefulness for what the Lord has provided, and it’s not just monetary. It’s the ability to earn what we have. 

“Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”
Deuteronomy 8:17–18

Moses is speaking to the people of Israel here. They have been brought out of the slavery of the Egyptians, crossed the Red Sea, and are on their way to the promised land. He has just given them the 10 Commandments, and now he’s giving them this warning about how they should view what they’ve been given and what they’ve earned before they enter the promised land without him. Not only are our possessions His, but the way we’ve earned those possessions was through gifts given to us by Him. Our talents, our abilities, our drive, they’re all from God. 

Even King David knew that He had nothing if not for God’s provision in his life. As a king, most men would begin to see themselves as a form of deity to their people, but David would not do that, even proclaiming it to his people. 

Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.
1 Chronicles 29:10–13

In order to be good stewards of what we have, we have to understand that it was never ours to begin with. We are only managing our Father’s property.  Everything we have, everything we are, everything we do belongs to God. For some of us that may feel like slavery, and it is. It’s not slavery like we hear about in the early United States. It’s more of an indentured slave. Though we don’t own it, we get the benefits of it, and if we manage it well, we get a reward.

“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for 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 God and money.”
Luke 16:10–13

Who will be your master? Will it be a financial master? Or will it be a loving Father who is blessing from His wealth and allowing you to manage His affairs? There’s freedom in knowing that everything we have is given directly by God for us to bless the Kingdom. If anything, this should give us peace in knowing it’s all His anyway.