BE A GOOD STEWARD

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

One who is full loathes honey from the comb, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.

Proverbs 27:7

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Something that always seems to be a point of discussion in our country is the matter of socio-economics. That’s simply a fancy word for studying differences in social status between people in regard to their money and quality of life.

It’s true, isn’t it?

Much of the political picture is driven by this subject as politicians argue over social programs. On one hand you’ll hear the argument that people who work hard should be able to enjoy the success they have earned. The other will counter that it’s wrong to have a society where there is a deep divide between those who have and those who don’t. They would propose that those who have contribute to the social welfare of those who are less fortunate and in need. And of course, this instigates a rebuttal that we shouldn’t be giving people a handout and instead should create more jobs so people can go out and earn the money they need to live.

And so the argument rages back and forth and back and forth and on and on and on.

These discussions are so prevalent that they influence the way we live and look at one another. The rich look down on those who are poor. The poor despise those who have so much when they have so little.

If only everyone in America could just take a trip to another nation and see what socio-economic suffering really looks like. I have and it’s a life changer, I can tell you that.

For even our poorest people in America are rich compared to the poverty that a large part of our world lives in. Need some statistics to bring things into focus?

- More than 80 percent of humanity lives on less than 10 dollars a day. Rural areas account for three in every four people living on less than a dollar a day and a similar share of the world population suffering from malnutrition.

- There are 2.2 billion children in the world. 1 billion live in poverty.

- 1.9 billion children live in the developing world. Of those 1.9 billion, 640 million are without adequate shelter (1 in 3), 400 million have no access to safe water (1 in 5), and 270 million have no access to health services (1 in 7).

- Worldwide, 10.6 million children die annually before they reach the age of 5 (a number matching the child population in France, Germany, Greece and Italy). Of those 10.6 million, 2.2 million die because they are not immunized and 1.4 million die from lack of access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation. A quote from UNICEF on this matter states, they (children) “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death.”

I could go on and on but you can get the point. We live in a world that is desperate for help with many people having far less than we could ever imagine.

I saw this first hand when I spent 14 months in the African nation of Djibouti. There, I witnessed rows and rows of corrugated tin lean-tos, crudely crafted to provide shade from the 130 degree temperatures that beat down for four months of the summer. The lean-tos were open air with no electricity, no running water, and no toilets. As you would drive by them, you would see as many as five to six people huddled underneath the cover, adults and children, seeking cover from the hot sun. Water was only available from a sea inlet and I saw women going to the sea, filling up five to six large plastic containers, and then carry them back to their families. Oh, and the sea inlet they were drawing water from was the same inlet that people were bathing in every day. These were harsh conditions but I was made aware from some Africans I befriended there that their living conditions were good compared to others on the continent.

Sometimes you don’t really appreciate what you have until you see others without.

The truth of the matter is that so many people in our nation have more than they really need, so much so that they could easily downsize their lives to try and make a difference in the lives of other people in the world who are in dire need of help. This was the root principle within a great book I was fortunate to read called Radical. Written by Pastor David Platt, readers are challenged to consider how Jesus called His disciples to leave behind what they had and who they were to surrender to Him and His ways, freely giving all to others as He so freely gave His all for us. He shares how he and his family chose to make changes in their lifestyle and give more than they received and how that sacrificial, giving spirit turned into an incredible spiritual blessing for them. I would encourage any of my readers to check this book out but I do warn you for you will be challenged and convicted by the Lord as you journey through its chapters.

So what does God’s word have to say on this matter? There are many passages I could reference but because this is a study and survey of Proverbs, I will stay on topic and look at the 7th verse of Chapter 27 as we see Solomon sharing some wise words regarding stewardship. Check out this verse:

One who is full loathes honey from the comb, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet. Proverbs 27:7

Those who are full of all life can bring will shun items that others would see as valuable. I think the common saying is “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.” In the instance of the proverb, people who were well off in biblical times would not even think about eating the honeycomb from a bee’s nest. Rather, they would trample them and crush them underfoot, seeing no value there after the sweet honey has been harvested. Conversely, the hungry person would gladly eat that same honeycomb, for when you have no food, you can’t be discriminatory about what you eat. You just need food, even if it’s something that most people would not eat.

Maybe we should think about that the next time we go to waste food that could be used to feed someone else. Ditto for the money we spend on food we never eat. Our cupboards are typically overflowing but we can only eat so much in any one day. What would happen if we prayed over what the Lord has given us, asking Him to make us better stewards of what He has provided? What would happen if we only bought what we needed in the immediate present and took the money left over to contribute to the cause of helping provide for the world’s hungry? Don’t you think that the Lord would see that we were cared for while using what we give to ensure others are cared for too?

Friends, perhaps the word of God is speaking to us today and pointing us toward being more charitable, to truly consider doing unto the least of these as Jesus did and then exhorted us to do as well. For when we truly choose to sacrifice ourselves and what we have for the good of others, then we take steps to be good stewards of what we have been given and to be more and more like our Savior Jesus Christ, allowing others get a glimpse of His Spirit and His heart through our actions.

Isn’t that what being a Christian is supposed to be about?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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