WE WILL GIVE AN ACCOUNT TO THE LORD JESUS! —II Corinthians 5:10
WE WILL GIVE AN ACCOUNT TO THE LORD JESUS! —II Corinthians 5:10
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. —Deuteronomy 8:17-18
For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. —Deuteronomy 10:17-18
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions. —Mark 12:28-34
And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” —Mark 12:41-44
Who owns your house, your vehicles, your wealth and all that you have, even your own self? God owns it all, even you. You and I are stewards of His stuff and we will give an account to Him as to how we put it to use. We cannot say by, “My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.” To do so is ignorance and arrogance. We need to know and “remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth.” Yes, we are managers of His property and will give an accounting to Him when we see Him. So let us be wise in the use of His resources He has given us to oversee.
Do we have the same concern He has for the orphan, the widow, the foreigner— those who need food, clothing and shelter? So, do we have the same concern He has for those who need water, for those who are sick, for those in prison, for the oppressed and those treated unjustly? (Matthew 25:34-46; Isaiah 58:6-7). Are we applying to our lives the two great commands— to love God and to love people? How are we doing that?
How are we using the resources God has given to us? Are we using them to build our own kingdom or His kingdom? Are we truly loving Him and loving people by helping them practically through the stewardship/managing of His resources? Look at the example Jesus calls out… Of all the great sums of money that were being donated, Jesus brought attention to this widow lady that put in the least amount. Why? To show how much she loved God and people. Jesus said that “she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” She did this with God and others in mind. How does that speak to us? Oh… that it would!
Dear Father, all that I have belongs to You. All of Creation belongs to You. Please help me apply the resources You have given me responsibility over in a way that honors Your Name. Yes, may this be so by the Power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Your Son Jesus. Yes, so may it be! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-ZfKMaPJmc