Had a coffee break this past week with the man who is tasked with taking my meager set-aside nickels and transforming them into a safety-net for that day when my life-stage has brought us to the inevitable season of reduced earnings. He laid out his recommended strategy, explained some of the other options worth contemplating, and then asked me what I wanted to do. "It is your money. I am only an adviser. I am prepared to assist you in any way I can. But it is your money so you get to decide."
"The earth is the Lord's, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it." Psalm 24:1
"'The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,' declares the Lord Almighty." Haggai 2:8
God owns everything that I have. He has entrusted it to me to do with it what HE desires to accomplish. He has graciously brought me onto His team to serve Him as a financial adviser. I have a stewardship to fulfill. With that privileged position He has trusted me with His resources. But He has retained the ownership. My task is to consult Him in order to determine what His goals are, then apply myself to the responsibility of using His wealth to effect that intended purpose.
Imagine how I would be feeling today if, after that Wednesday coffee break, I were to discover that my financial manager had headed home, stopping along the way to trade-down his car for another (on MY retirement account, a down-trade would be the only option for him :), picked up a new bicycle for his grand-daughter, and called his wife to tell her to put dinner in the fridge. "Rempel gave me his money so I'm taking you out to dinner tonight! He won't mind at all. After all, he trusts me with it and gave me the liberty to manage it however I felt was best. And right now, I think the two of us going out to Venue IS the best thing! See you in a few minutes, love."
Everything we have belongs to God. We own nothing. The amazing thing is that He is willing to let us work with Him on His team, serving as financial managers. He doesn't ask us to determine how much of what He has given us we ought to give back to Him. Instead, He asks us to determine how much of what He has entrusted to us He wants us to keep for ourselves. As His partners in financial matters, He permits US to determine what our salary will be!
The man who handles my meager retirement account had done proper research and asked me to meet him for coffee so that he could inform me as to what he had determined would be the wisest financial strategy at this season of my life. I appreciated his insight, believed he was committed to what was best for our interests, and signed the recommendation.
"It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich..." Proverbs 10:22
See you Sunday, Church!
Pastor Tom
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