He Giveth and He Taketh Away

Pastor Scott’s currently leading us through a stewardship study (see yesterday’s message or his blog entry for today). I’ve already documented about my toolbox of mint-condition tools. So as you might imagine, I like my possessions to remain in tip top condition. That means I tend to have a tight grip, not wanting to loan them out to others for fear they’ll get dinged or wanting to use them as sparingly as possible. When I stop myself, I realize the error of this line of thinking. In some ways, my life mirrors the shift we’ve made with our facility.

This all coincides with stewardship. The error in my thinking is that I’m concerned about my stuff. MY is the problem. When I correct myself and view it as God’s possessions for Him to use as He sees fit, I loosen the grip and have a much freer view. I’m less concerned about whether it gets dinged-up or not, as long as God is using it for His purposes it doesn’t matter. If it is destroyed, God supplied it and if He deems it a necessary item, He’ll supply the replacement. Our car is a good example.

We were fortunate enough to purchase a car in 2002. With interest rates so low, we were able to afford a brand new car. Within the first year, someone put a ding on the passenger-side quarter panel. I was furious; our brand new car was marred! After getting over my initial fury (it took a month or so), I came to accept that God had provided the car and that I shouldn’t let a little ding get me upset. I haven’t repaired the ding, purposely as a reminder that it’s not my car. While it is not an unblemished car, I dutifully change the oil every 5,000 miles, try to keep the car clean and all of the other aspects to maintaining a vehicle. It’s served us well and hasn’t left us stranded.

I face the loose-grip challenge daily – am I going to view it as mine or view it as God’s?