It’s Not Your Money seeks to help you form the foundation of discipleship. The message is that by putting God first in your life, you gain the sense of peace and contentment that you truly seek.
On the last podcast I said that trusting God to provide, and so giving courageously demonstrates a mature faith. I asked what keeps you from doing that. What keeps you from embracing God’s way to live, God’s will for your life? Did you know that each of us is called to holiness? Sound impossible? Pope Francis tells us that holiness is the mission of every Christian. Pope St. John Paul II said there are many ways to holiness according to the vocation of each individual. So then, how do we attain holiness?
It starts with considering our Ideal. An authentic Ideal gives meaning and purpose to life. It causes us to rise above our normal self. It drives us to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. It gives us hope for our future. Think about what drives and informs who you are. What are your priorities? What kind of person do you aspire to be? This is hard stuff, I know, but forming the proper Ideal is vital to how we live our lives every day. And so, it is vital to our discipleship.
Stewardship is the Ideal
Stewardship gives us the perfect framework on which to build our discipleship. Stewardship as our Ideal becomes our philosophy of life – that set of beliefs that determine how we set priorities and make decisions. So as disciples of Jesus Christ, living stewardship should be our Ideal.
A Stewardship Ideal is a mindset. This mindset first admits and embraces the truth that It’s Not Mine. God owns everything! What??! I hear your push-back, “Joe, what do you mean God owns everything? I own my things.” Yes, of course we own our things. Thankfully, we have laws that govern our ownership of things in relationship with each other. But in relationship with God – He owns everything.
The Bible lays this foundation. The passage in 1 Chronicles 29:11-14 says, in summary, that “All in heaven and earth are yours, Lord. Riches and glory are from You. Everything is from You.”
So, since everything is from God, this means that God gives us everything. Every single thing we have is given to us from God. What??! You push back again, “Joe, nobody gives me anything. I earn everything I have.” Yes, of course we work and earn the money we have to spend to get the things we have. But think about it – where do you get the talent, the ability to do what you do to earn? Where do you get the time to go do what you do?
Consider one more verse with me. It is Deuteronomy 8:10-18, especially verse 18. Moses tells us to “Remember then the LORD, your God, for he is the one who gives you the power to get wealth.” God reminds us that He is the one who gives us the ability to earn.
I go into a lot more detail on this in the book. Get copies at the website www.itsnotyourmoney.org
A huge step toward being a mature disciple is to embrace this truth that God owns everything and God gives us everything. Make this the foundation of your philosophy of life – your Ideal. When I did, my mindset changed and allowed me to begin to put God first in my life, in every area of my life, including money. This was a giant step toward alleviating stress and finding my peace.
Thank you for listening. Think about your Ideal. Make living Stewardship your Ideal. Please share this with your family and friends, and your priest. Also, please share your thoughts on this with me. Do that at the website under the “Join In” tab.
Till next time, Be Well.
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