Aging gracefully - being a good steward

When it's our desire to "age gracefully" in Christ, we will also choose to be a good steward of God's gifts. Whether it's our time, our talents, or our treasures, we will strive to use them all wisely.

As we age, we come to more of a realization that our time here on earth is precious. Beginning at our birth and ending with death, when we pass on to be with Jesus, as Paul mentioned to us:

but we are of good courage and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. (II Corinthians 5:8)

We can't truly make up for time lost. We can't store up time like we can grain in our barn or money in our bank account. Once a minute passes, it's gone forever. Sobering, eh?

God the Father wants all of us to reach heaven as our home. That's why He created us, and that's why He sent His Son, Jesus. Our time here on earth is a pilgrimage; but we can't make the progress needed unless we give some of our measured time to the Lord. Through our daily prayer time, we can develop a close, personal relationship with God. Did you know that He loves to hear from us? He loves to hear us talk to Him about our failures and our successes, and He wants to hear us ask Him for His help. 

Reading His Word daily helps us to learn more of Him, to be more like Him, and to be reminded of His great love for us. Also, spending (I'd rather call it investing) some of our time with assisting individuals and organizations is yet another way to share our time. Being a good steward means that we show our love for God by letting Him use our feet, hands, eyes and ears, and our voices for Him.

We need to pay attention to being good stewards of our talents, as well. All of us have special talents or gifts. These are not so we can be proud of ourselves, but so that we can enrich the lives of others and serve God better! We noted recently that in Peter's epistle, he tells us that each of us has received a gift (some translations say "special grace") so that we can serve in varied ways. Not sure what our gift is? We can look around us and see what is needed . . . sometimes it's just a question of doing what is the most comfortable to us; other times it's a question of "stretching" ourselves a bit, and getting outside of our comfort zone to serve.  Look around - what would Jesus see if He were standing beside us, and thinking? Are there elderly people who need a phone call, a visit, or a cheerful card? Are there hungry people who could truly use some of the extras from our pantry? Can we devote time to mentor or disciple a new believer? Can we pray for the needs we see and give a kind word to all whom we meet? Of course, the answer to a couple of these is "yes" for everyone who pauses here. Some require more time, and it's something that we have to pray about and seek the Spirit's guidance . . .and then be good stewards of our talents.

Lastly, we need to be good stewards of our "treasures." The earthly ones. The money. The cash. The Benjamins. Whatever we call it, money is also a gift from our Father. Remember the parable of the talents in Matthew 25? (Who doesn't? It's a staple in our churches when they need to remind the members of the need to support the work!) 
Anyway . . . A man preparing to travel far away allots some money (called talents) to a few of his servants. The first man receives five talents; he works to build them into five more. The second man received only two, but he was able to double their value and present four to his master on his return. The third servant received one - and buried it. 

On his return, the man praises the first two servants, but takes away the money from the third. Why? Well, I believe the lesson of the talents is that we are to make good use of the financial gifts that God gives us. To be less than frugal is a sin -- to do nothing with them is JUST as wrong! 

When we do make the most of His financial gifts, the Word tells us two ways that we can show our gratitude to Him: first, some percentage of what we receive should be returned to Him in gratitude. The tithe is mentioned thirty-nine times in the Old Testament, and yes, it is actually mentioned eleven times in the New. I don't want to go down any rabbit trails, but it's my opinion that it's God's will to continue the practice of tithing. 

Secondly, we can share our money and material goods with those in need in our family, our church, and our community.

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.  (II Corinthians 5:6-8)

What an awesome promise! We will have all that we need . . . notice that it doesn't say we will have all that we want, or everything on our Christmas wish list, or our heart's desire. We will have all that we need. 
What a promise! He will provide!

I choose to be a good steward of my time, my talents, and my "treasures." 

And I will do it all CHEERFULLY!

It's part of aging gracefully.