1 Corinthians 4:1-2 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. English Standard Version (ESV)
As I read this passage this morning in my devotions the word and concept that jumped out at me was the word "steward". Whether we admit it or not all of us are stewards of what God has given us. We are all accountable to God with what we've been given, how we use it is important. For the Christian, we are entrusted with the message of the gospel. Our lives are to be a testimony of what He has done for us and the faith that we have in Him, in all situations. Chuck Colson writes "circumstances don't create character, they reveal character. Arm yourself today with the integrity of Christ…..The three most important ingredients in Christian work are integrity, integrity, integrity."
In reading the Bible you can't help but apply it to life and apply it to what is going on in the world. In this political season it is easy and troublesome to apply what we read to political candidates. But at the same time when we hold them to a standard we should always be applying that standard to ourselves to see where we stand, all the while realizing that not only is the world looking at us, but so is Christ.
Attached to the word "steward" in my eBible notes I had the following quote:
The key to unlocking a heart of gratitude and overcoming bitterness and ugliness and disrespect and violence is a strong belief in God, the Creator and Sustainer and Provider and Hope-giver. If we do not believe we are deeply indebted to God for all we have or hope to have, then the very spring of gratitude has gone dry. – (source unknown)
If we hope to overcome the bitterness, ugliness, disrespect and violence that is going in the world it starts with all of us as Christians, being good stewards of what God has blessed us. Read the passage below from The Message. We shouldn't make any attempt to "rank ourselves" as masters but rather servants, revealing the character of Christ in us, a character based on the key ingredients of integrity, integrity, and integrity.
Blessings,
Mike
1 Corinthians 4:1-4The Message (MSG)
4 1-4 Don't imagine us leaders to be something we aren't. We are servants of Christ, not his masters. We are guides into God's most sublime secrets, not security guards posted to protect them. The requirements for a good guide are reliability and accurate knowledge. It matters very little to me what you think of me, even less where I rank in popular opinion. I don't even rank myself. Comparisons in these matters are pointless. I'm not aware of anything that would disqualify me from being a good guide for you, but that doesn't mean much. The Mastermakes that judgment.
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