Can You Manage It?

I

 grew up in a very small town in western North Carolina called Cherryville.  It is a small town with a population of approximately 5,000 people.  Life is slow there and good.  People know each other by their first names and some families, like mine, have been there for generations.  The town has very nice neighborhoods with large yards shaded by large trees and it is very common to see people taking long walks during the evening hours. It was here that I grew up, here that I learned about life, and here that I made good friends, many of whom still live in town.

Our neighborhood had several kids, several dogs, and a small store called Nell's where we would get snacks, candy, drinks, and bubble gum.  There was also a man who lived in the neighborhood who taught me the wonderful lesson of faithfulness that I learned to appreciate much later in life.  This is an attribute seriously lacking in society today, but back then, this man demonstrated faithfulness by his actions, his words, and his life.

The man's name was Emmitt Clark and every kid in the neighborhood knew him. We just called him Emmitt and he was always ready with a smile and a laugh.  He always called me his "old buddy" and every time I saw him, be it in the neighborhood or downtown, his voice would ring out, "There's my old buddy" and I knew right away it was Emmitt.  He had this neat little workshop behind his house full of all kinds of gadgets, tools, spare parts, oilcans, etc.  He opened this shop on a regular basis and we all took our bikes to him to have them inspected, oiled, repaired, or to have our tires filled with air.  Emmitt took it upon himself to ensure that every kid had a well-maintained bike and he would build bikes from spare parts for kids who didn't have them.  No matter what the time, Emmitt always had time for us kids.  He never complained, never hurried us away, but always took time for us and cared for us.  I know of no better picture of faithfulness than this.

In 1Corinthians 4:2, the Apostle Paul writes, "Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful" Although this verse is short, it has far reaching implications.  The first thing we must understand is that we are all stewards.  This means we must manage those things God has put in our care.  These include our relationships with others, our relationship with God, our financial resources, our time, and our lives.  In addition to being stewards, we must be faithful to fulfill the responsibilities God has entrusted to us. We must conduct ourselves in a manner that is pleasing to God and we must manage the gifts he has given us in a way that will glorify him.  We must use our time to his glory, our relationships to his glory, our finances to his glory, and our lives to his glory. 

The requirement to be faithful also means we are accountable to God for our stewardship.  Every action we take, every thought we have, every dollar we spend, every moment we live, and every life we touch must be accounted for.  God calls us not only to profess faith in him; he calls us to be faithful. In one of his parables, Jesus described a faithful servant who labored in the absence of his master.  He described him with these words, “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? 46“Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. “Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods." (Matthew 24:45-47). Will God find us so doing today?