Not too long ago I was visiting a faithful Christian couple. We were at the table in the dining room. Behind me the children were playing in the family room. The tempo of the children's play was heating up a bit when it suddenly became very obvious that both children wanted the same toy at exactly the same time. The younger child, under the age of 18 months, suddenly turned up the decibels and at the top of his lungs screamed, "M-I-I-I-I-I-I-N-E!"

The "mine" complex

Isn't it amazing that at such a young age, this child could give such an honest portrayal of our sinful nature? Demanding, greedy, cruel, and selfish. Picture that defensive stance. Fists clenched, arms bowed out in front of him . . . "This is mine, and you can't have it."

The adult Christian isn't nearly as dramatic. In a very sophisticated way, we can say, "I worked hard for everything I have." "It is time I start thinking about myself." "I don't know how much I'm going to need." I even had one elderly gentleman tell me, "I think I'm just going to take all I have with me when I die." Do you hear the little child in all those statements saying, "M-I-N-E!"? Human nature drives us to get things, to place our priority on things, and to do things for self-indulgence.

God's ownership

Now let us contrast this with the truth of Holy Scripture. The Lord says, "I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it" (Psalm 50:9-12).

God owns it all. There is the first radical truth we need to take to heart. God alone dispenses it where and when he pleases. He makes some rich and allows others to get along with bare subsistence living. If any of this makes you feel uncomfortable, that's good because it suggests that God's law is at work in you. It is the truth of God's law that first must humble our proud, selfish spirit.

Then the truth of the gospel, which we hear so often, can fill our hearts. Through hearing, his grace floods in and thoroughly changes our perspective on the things of life.

Management with a full view of the cross

Christian management of possessions starts by viewing the cross and all the blessings Christ has won for us there--our complete salvation, forgiveness, peace, joy, love, and ultimately eternal life in heaven. Christ has done it all for us. He gives us all these blessings by his grace.

Christian stewardship is my individual response to these truths. It is not just meeting the budget at church, or raising a few extra bucks to replace the roof, or a few more dollars to build a new church. That may be quite radical for some of us.