"We have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. "
1 Timothy 6:7
NO U-HAULS TO HEAVEN
Read It: Job 1:21; Proverbs 30:8-9; Ecclesiastes 5:13-15 hen my wife and I were in seminary, we used to house-sit for income. People who were going on vacation would call Dallas Seminary for the name of a seminary student or couple who would stay in their home and keep an eye on things. We got the full run of the home. We could eat the food and sleep in the bed. Sometimes we would stay in a home in the posh section of Dallas. I knew I would never get there again, so I "maxed" that baby out. Sometimes we would invite people over. It was magnificent, but Lois would always remind me that this was not our house. We could use it, but it belonged to someone else. We were merely the stewards. Today's verse and reading are a powerful reminder that we are merely the stewards of everything we have. The Bible says it's all on loan. We came into this world with nothing, and we are leaving here the same way. Hearses don't pull U-Hauls. The only reason you won't go out naked is because somebody else will dress you. Over the last few weeks we've learned that the moment we lose sight of the fact that we are only the managers of God's stuff, we are headed for problems. Many of us act as if what we have is "mine, mine, mine." No, no, no. It is just yours to manage, not to own.
If you don't have this view of stewardship, you make God the visitor and you the owner, and God is not into that. He's into ownership. That's a blessing, because the beautiful thing about having someone else own something is that when it breaks down, the owner has to fix it. If you let God own your life, when it breaks down, He has to fix it. When you let Him own you and own your money, when the money runs out, He has to supply it. But as long as it is your money and your house and your car, when it breaks, you get to fix it. Which sounds like a better way to go for you? Think About It God can do a better job of ownership than you or I ever thought about doing.
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