You Manage Your Money; You Don’t Own It
By Rick Warren
“Once there was a man who was about to leave home on a trip; he called his servants and put them in charge of his property. He gave to each one according to his ability: to one he gave five thousand gold coins, to another he gave two thousand, and to another he gave one thousand. Then he left on his trip.” Matthew 25:14-15 (GNT)
Jesus says in Matthew 25:14-15, “Once there was a man who was about to leave home on a trip; he called his servants and put them in charge of his property. He gave to each one according to his ability: to one he gave five thousand gold coins, to another he gave two thousand, and to another he gave one thousand. Then he left on his trip” (GNT).
Instead of using a bank, when this rich man left for his long trip, he entrusted his property to his servants. When he returned, he asked each one for an account of how they’d handled his money.
What the rich man was looking for was good stewardship. The word stewardship is related to the Old English word for “manager.” Your stewardship—your management—is key to your financial freedom. The first law of financial freedom is the law of possession: Everything you have belongs to God. You are only a manager!
You are called to be a steward of your time. You are called to be a steward of your influence. You are called to be a steward of your health, your relationships, and your opportunities. God calls you to be steward or manager of everything you have.
You may say, “But wait a minute! I worked for my money, and now you want to tell me it isn’t mine?” Where do you think you got your body to work for your money? Where do you think you got your mind to work for it? Where do you think you got the energy to work for it? Where do you think you got the intelligence to work for it? Everything you have comes from God.
You don’t really own anything in life; it’s all on loan. You only get to use God’s money while you’re here on Earth. He’s loaned it to you for a few decades. He loaned it to somebody before you, and he’s going to loan it to somebody else after you die. You don’t own it; the Master owns it all. You just get to manage it.
Do you know what the sign is that you’ve forgotten the law of possession? When you think your money is yours, you worry about it. You feel a pressure and stress that you weren’t meant to.
Money management is a spiritual discipline. God is watching how you handle his money to see what spiritual riches he can trust you with in heaven. This might make you feel pressure, but there is actually freedom in the law of possession.
When you remember that God is the owner and you are the manager, you’ll worry a whole lot less and focus more on managing God’s money well.
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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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