"And Everything in It...!?!"

Psalm 24, attributed to King David, states, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” This is a pretty serious claim. Every inch of this world belongs to its Creator. During the last few days, a group of ten Haitian church leaders (part of a larger group of forty-five), have been studying the Timothy Leadership Training material, “Bon Jesyon Byen Bondye” (trans: “Managing God’s Stuff Well”). If everything is God’s, then we are only caretakers. And if we are only caretakers, then we are responsible to the Owner. Our bodies are not our own. Our houses, cars, and i-phones are not our own. And our money is not our own. It all was given to us and it all will return to our Lord. What matters is how we use what we are given. So we must ask the question, “Are we using ‘God’s stuff’ to advance God’s kingdom?” Or, are we using “God’s stuff” to live a self-gratifying lifestyle. The Haitians that Zach taught definitely got the message. Because they have so little, it seems to be easier for Haitians to put their worldly possessions into the service of their Creator. But what of we North Americans who have so much? Can we put it all into the service of the Creator? Jesus said, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded...” (Luke 12:48). The picture on the left is of a participant sharing her plan to use Timothy Training materials in her Sunday School class. The picture on the left is the food prepared for the seminar participants.