Using God’s possessions faithfully

There is a clear and consistent message throughout the Bible that God is the owner of all things and that he entrusts his possessions to people with the directive that they be faithful in managing those possessions.  Here is a sampling of Bible passages on that subject.

Deuteronomy 8:17-18 – “You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth…”

1 Chronicles 29:14 – “’But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.’”

Psalm 24:1 – “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.

Haggai 2:8 – “‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the LORD Almighty.”

Matthew 25:14-30 – (The parable of the talents)

1 Corinthians 4:2, 7 – “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful…“For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?”

1 Peter 4:10 – “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

1 Timothy 5:8 addresses your “especially family” question.  “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

Your questions about the faithful management of God’s possessions are good reminders that the motivation for such faithful management is gratitude for the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ:  “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”