Stewardship

Last night I got really excited, even if it was just a momentary thing.  You see, my cell phone was acting really strange last night.  The screen was flickering and it was just doing weird things.  My first thought was, "yes! I can get a new phone!"  Sadly, after turning it off and then back on again, it was back to normal.  You see, my cell phone is ancient...it was old when I got it (almost 4 years ago!), and it's so outdated...BUT, it works.  It's not fancy, but I can text (barely) and make calls.  Here's the thing, I REALLY want the new flashy stuff the EVERYONE else has, but when I examine my motives (to be like everyone else and be "cool") I can't justify it...at all!

Here's another confession, I know we will be getting a little chunk of money when we file our taxes so what have I been doing?  Daydreaming about what to spend it on!  Maybe a kindle (or a nook - I'm not picky!), a lap top (because I might go back to school), a wii (for the boys, of course), ipad (to be cool, of course), and on and on it goes.

Here's the stewardship part (as I see it).  Every time I say "yes" to something I am saying "no" to something else.  So, do we want to live within our means, happily debt free or live to the very edge of our budget and always be struggling.  So, I say "no" (today anyway) to a fancy phone that will cost me WAY more in monthly charges.  Maybe with what I'm not spending on the phone we can do something fun as a family, like a movie or dinner out or baseball game.   Maybe we say "no" to an ipad (I was dreaming anyway) and instead have a weekend getaway.  Now, I'm NOT saying that any of those things fancy things are "bad."  Focusing on stuff though (like I think I've been lately) is NEVER good!   I sometimes wonder if we (as a church and society) lived more simply we'd have a lot more we could use to bless others. 

  Philippians 2:3-4

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.   

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.