Stwardship, part 2

Stewardship, part 2

Those of you who are geographically situated so that you have had to drive down I-75 from Toledo have noticed the building in Lima, OH which boldly proclaims ‘CHRIST IS THE ANSWER,’ but perhaps you don’t know the rest of the story, as the late Paul Harvey was fond of saying. Mr. Tam, who owned the business, was a Christian businessman who wasn’t satisfied with owning a business he dedicated to God, but wanted God to legally own the business. It took some doing, but his attorney finally succeeded in accomplishing the task of transferring the ownership from Mr. Tam to God.

As we discussed in the previous posting, God should be the owner of all we have. I am not suggesting that Christian business owners should emulate Mr. Tam, but in a real sense, we should reject the notion that in ourselves we have done great things. In my case, I know that the business which I run would have failed long ago if it was up to me. I am not smart enough to run it by myself. I spend time early each morning in a board meeting with the Chairman, during which time I remind Him that the company belongs to Him, I thank Him for any success, and beg that He might be pleased to continue to bless Grace Plastics. I am thankful that the business is not dependent on a shaky economy, but is wholly dependent upon the eternal and almighty God.

This is a lesson we all need to relearn time after time. I Tim. 6:17 states, ‘Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.’ You may not consider yourself to be rich, but there is a lesson nevertheless. Don’t trust in money, or your employment, but in the living God.

On our currency we have printed, ‘In God We Trust.’ On Facebook there is a poll questioning whether we should remove the motto from our currency. I personally think it is a wonderful reminder that we shouldn’t be trusting in the almighty dollar, but in almighty God. However since most Americans seem to have forgotten that, and are trusting in the dollar, maybe there is no reason to continue to have a motto which most of us totally ignore.

Although the Bible has a lot to say about money, we need to understand that striving and grasping for it will not give fulfillment, but will constantly leave a void, and the necessity to want more. When asked how much money was enough, John Rockefeller said, ‘Just a little more.’ How sad!

Well, I do have a little more to say about the subject, and so will close the subject of stewardship and money with the next posting. After that, since Michelle’s wedding is now only two weeks away, we will give some thoughts about that. Stay tuned!