Our materialistic society advises us to live our lives a bit like Pac-Man, gobbling up everything around us. To be like a child who shouts “Mine!” as soon as they see any toy in the possession of another. But reality is that everything we ever possess is just passing through our hands, on the way to somewhere else. 

Recognizing this reality allows us to adopt a stewardship approach to all we own. The question of a steward is not “How can I continue to possess?” This is because the steward recognizes that they are only managing on behalf of someone else. The proper stewardship question is “What is my proper duty?” while this temporarily passes through our hands. 

We are stewards for God in this life. God is the true owner of all. We know this by faith. But even observation tells us this is reality. We are only owners for a time. Someone else will eventually possess all we currently possess.

We may be entrusted for a while with land, money, houses, or investments. We have gifts, imagination, emotion, and skills. But in the end, it all belongs to God. The power of this truth unlocks our freedom, our participation, and our truest perspective. We no longer need to cling. We need not worry about loss. We can free our focus to steward well. Peace and truth are found in this fact: The Lord is The Lord of All. 

“For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it”
– 1 Timothy 6:7