We often think of stewardship as our money in tithe to the church, but it goes further than that.  Such as our talents and gifts. (Acts 11: 27-29; 1 Cor 3:10-17)  How about our bodies and minds? (RO 12:1-2)  Are we caring for them as God would want us to?  Then there is our family. (1 Pe 3:1-7; 1 Ti 5:8; Eph 5:25-31)  Are we teaching and shepherding in the way the Lord has set before us? (Eph 6:1-4)

    How are we being good stewards with what God has entrusted to us?
   
    How about our bodies? (1 Cor 6:12-20)  This seems to be a forgotten or, at least, thought of as an unimportant part of stewardship.  Have you ever heard the saying “you are what you eat?”  In other words, if you eat fat greasy food you will become a fat greasy slob. This also applies to what we feed our mind.  What are we feeding our bodies and minds?  In 1 Cor 6:19-20 it says that the Holy Spirit lives within us, was given by God and it was given at a price.  Therefore, whatever we eat, drink, read, speak, and act we are doing it unto the Lord.  In other words, we are forcing the Holy Spirit within us to participate in doing what we are doing.  We need to remember that God has blessed us with His Spirit--it is only right to be a good steward of this precious gift.  Are you being a good steward of the Spirit that lives within you?
   
    We have a seemingly new found fad (not really, it’s been around since the beginning of time, but it now has a label).  It is called extreme sports.  Are we really supposed to play with death like this? (Lk 4:12 ; 1 Cor 10:9)  And are we as radical with our Christian life?

    How does reading the Bible compare?  Do you read it as much as you watch television, go to movies, read books, or read newspapers?  About the same? A lot less?  “Only when my life takes a turn for the worse.”  Is it:  “I just can’t find the time” or, “I just don’t see the need to read the Bible”?  It is written that the battle is in the mind, not against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities. (Eph 6:10-18)  If you do not control your mind something or someone else will.  (Ro 8:5-9;12:1-2)  

    What about your time of prayer? (Mark 1:35)  Do you take time each day to return back to God a little bit of what He has given you.  God is our Father, He wants a relationship with His children, just as we want a relationship with our children.  A hello, good-bye is not a relationship.  Our Father’s desire is to have quality time with us, we desire quality time with our children and our earthly father.  So why do we not think that our Heavenly Father desires to have quality time with us as well?  It should be our desire to enter into fellowship with our Father every day, not just talking, but being still and listening.  We need to be good stewards with the privilege given us to be able to enter into the Holy of Holies before our Father in fellowship.

     How about your worship time? (John 4:24)  Worship to me was probably the least understood part of my relationship with God.  I can remember leaving a worship service and saying, “I didn’t get a thing out of it.”  How selfish of me to think it was about me.  We need to understand that worship is not for us it is for the glory of God.  It is to give worship to God not to receive worship from God.  My wife and I have seen more healing during worship than any other part of a service.  That is God’s gift back to us for truly worshiping Him.  But it should not be the reason we worship.  Worship is about being one on one with God, giving Him the praise, glory, and honor He deserves.  It is our act of stewardship to learn how to worship--focus only on the Lord, not the worship team, the band members, props or lighting.  It’s about the worship of our Lord and Savior, no one else.  Worship is so much more than singing.  We can worship God throughout our day.

    How is your mind? (Eph 4:22-24) Col 2:18--Do you have an unspiritual mind?   Ro 12:1-2--Are you renewing your mind? Are you reading, watching television, going to movies, reading romance novels or watching soaps? (2 Cor 10:4-5)  These are just a few examples of things that can bring us down instead of build us up.  Are you able to take captive every thought--if not, why not?  Who controls your mind? (Eph 6:10-18) Could it be a negative spirit, lying spirit, lustful spirit, spirit of greed, a spirit of fear, anger, contentment, pride and the list goes on and on?  It is up to you to receive whichever spirit--the Spirit of Christ or of the flesh.

    Relationships--Are we good stewards of the relationships that God has given us?  As a parent, our first and most important responsibility to our children is to teach them about Christ (Prov 22:6, Deut 6:7-9; Isa 38:19, Eph 6:4, 1 Ti 3:4) and raise them in the ways of the Lord.  As parents, we are to set the example for our children.  An example of this is to let your children see you having a consistent and on-going quiet time--reading, praying and discussing what God has given and done for you in your lives.  As parents we are accountable directly to God for how we care for the gifts He has entrusted us with. (Matt 18:1-6; James 3:1)  How are you caring for the gifts that God has blessed you with?

    Once the child knows the will of God in their lives all the rest falls into place.  For example:  Shall they go to higher education, if so, where, and for what?  This would be a good time to seek the Lord’s guidance.  God will provide for all our needs according to His riches. (Phil 4:19) Are we really supposed to try to attain the most prestigious and highest paying jobs?  Of course there is nothing wrong with that if God is in the center of it all and God’s will is being done in that environment.  But God’s will should always come first and everything else falls into place after that.  Seek God first in all things. (Matt 6:33)

    How about your spouse, are you being a good steward of that relationship? (Eph 5:21-33)  Do you submit to one another because you love Christ?  Husbands, do you love your wife as Christ loves the church?  Remember Christ laid down His life for the church. (Eph 5:25-26)  Do you wash over her with words of kindness?  Wives, do you submit to your husband as you do to the Lord?  Do you truly respect your husband and honor him in all of your words and deeds? (Eph 5:22-24)  If God has blessed you with a spouse, then honor God by being a good steward of that relationship.

    What about the other relationships in our lives?  Do we appreciate them or take them for granted?  Do we recognize the relationships that God has given us verses the ones that we’ve created?  Do we hang onto the ones that feed our selfish desires and let go of the ones that force us to grow?  Read Deut 13:6-10; Psalms 119:57-64 (key vs. 63); Prov 12:26; Prov 18:24; Prov 22:24-25; Jer 9:1-6; Luke 21:15-19; John 15:12-14; and James 4:4.  What kind of friends do you have, what kind of friend are you?  Are you being a good steward of the relationships you have with people or are you being selfish and choosing friends that feed your wants and desires (worldly appetites).
   
    Money is one of the things we think of most when we think of stewardship.  Money is an important part of stewardship but as we’ve already seen it goes much further than that.  We are asked to honor the Lord with our wealth, with the firstfruits of all our crops. (Prov 3:9)  This means we are to give to God before anything else:  paying bills, food, or entertainment.  Often times we pay everything, keep out enough money for play and household expenses, and God gets a portion of what is left.  This is not firstfruits--this is scraps given to God. (Mt 6:33)  We are to seek God first, not after we take care of ourselves.  We need to come to the understanding that when we give to God first, everything else falls into place. (Prov 3:9-10; Mt 6:25-34)  It is a promise that God will care for us and He will.  What about that tax return you may get back from giving to a ministry or your church?  Do you take it and put it right back into the kingdom or do you take it and use it on what you want to?  We must understand that we are not to make a religious law about our giving--God wants a cheerful giver.  In otherwords, out of the heart not out of obligation or guilt. (2 CO 9:6-7)  God asks for what we have, not for what we do not have. (2 CO 8:12)  When we read about the widow who gave two little coins worth less than a penny, we see that she gave out of poverty. (Mark 12:41; Luke 21:4)  This passage is not saying we need to give all we have, but we should give according to what God has put in our heart.  This widow showed her heart for God by her gift.  When we give we should give in proportion to the way the Lord has blessed us (Deut 16:17), doing so privately, not making a display of what we have given. (Mt 6:1-3)  We are also asked to give freely.  Because God gave freely (His son) we, too, should also give freely (Mt 10:8) out of our heart and out of the proportion that we have, regularly setting aside (1Co 16:2) to give cheerfully. (2 CO 9:7)

    Are you truly being a good steward of what God has given you?  Not just things or finances, but the Spirit that lives within you?  Are you truly living as God intends?