What Do You Have that You Haven't Been Given?

Think for a moment about everything you have – What do you have that you haven’t been given? I hear your pushback: “What do you mean? Nobody has given me anything. I work hard and have earned everything I have.”

Yes, of course. We do work hard to provide for our needs and wants. But listen, James Taylor admits this truth. In the first stanza of Carry Me On My Way, he sings:

I forget what to ask for
There isn’t anything I haven’t been given
How could I wish for anything more
As I am here living in heaven

And St. Paul tells the Romans, and us, that, “From him and through him and for him are all things.” (Rm 11:36) As we are here living in heaven on earth, we believe that God owns everything and so everything we have is a gift from God. Acts 17:25 tells us that it is He who gives to everyone life and breath and everything!

So, the proper mindset of good stewardship is that God owns everything, and everything we have are gifts to us from God. He gives us the talent and ability to work and earn the money we use to get the things we have. When we embrace this truth, we can’t help but be overwhelmed with gratitude and humility. Our gratefulness invites us to make a response to God. We want to give back, to make a return to the Lord for all the blessings and benefits He gives to us.

I think of Jonah 2:10 where he sets a good example for us when he declares, “With thankful voice, I will sacrifice to you; What I have vowed I will pay.” In your thankfulness, what should you vow to pay? How can your giving reflect your humble gratitude to God for all he’s given to you?