Question:

1
(No Transcript)
2
Inheritances

• Question
• If you were asked whether parents should leave a
  million dollar estate to be divided between their
  healthy working adult children, what would you
  say (or ask)?

3

• Inherited wealth is as certain a death to
  ambition as cocaine is to morality.
• Cornelius Vanderbilt
• Fortunes tend to self-destruction by destroying
  those who inherit them.
• Henry Ford

4

• The almighty dollar bequeathed to a child is an
  almighty curse. No man has the right to handicap
  his son with such a burden as great wealth. He
  must face this question squarely will my fortune
  be safe with my boy AND will my boy be safe with
  my fortune?
• Andrew Carnegie

5

• Your fortune is rolling up, rolling up like an
  avalanche! You must distribute it faster than it
  grows! If you do not, it will crush you, and your
  children, and your childrens children.
• Frederick T. Gates,
• John D. Rockefeller Sr.s advisor

6

• A good man leaves an inheritance for his
  childrens children.
• Proverbs 1322

7

• An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning
  will not be blessed at the end.
• Proverbs 2021
• Whoever can be trusted with very little can also
  be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest
  with very little will also be dishonest with
  much.
• Luke 1610

8

• If you wish to leave much wealth to your
  children, leave them in Gods care. Do not leave
  them riches, but virtue and skill. For if they
  have the confidence of riches, they will not mind
  anything besides, for they shall have the means
  of screening the wickedness of their ways in
  their abundant riches.
• John Chrysostom, AD 390

9

• If your investment manager died, what would
  you think if he left your money to his children?
• Whose money is it? Children who would resent
  their parents giving Gods money to Gods kingdom
  would not handle that money well.
• If God entrusted His money to me, doesnt that
  indicate He wants me to invest most of it where
  there is too little rather than too much? Where
  it can help rather than do damage?

10

• Inheritance or Heritage?
• Family Conference about Inheritance

11
Is Leaving Money the Same as Giving Money?

• It is appointed for men to die once, but after
  this the judgment.
• Hebrews 927, NKJV
• I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or
  sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.
• 1 Chronicles 2124

12

• And everyone who has left houses or brothers
  or sisters or father or mother or children or
  fields for my sake will receive a hundred times
  as much and will inherit eternal life.
• Matthew 1929

13
Training our Children

• Question
• What can parents and grandparents do to train
  children how to be
• 1) good stewards?
• 2) radically generous givers?

14

• It would have made a dreadfully ugly child but
  it makes a rather handsome pig, I think. And she
  began thinking over other children she knew, who
  might do very well as pigs.
• Lewis Carroll,
• Alices Adventures in Wonderland
• There are only three ways to teach a child.
  The first is by example, the second is by
  example, and the third is by example. Albert
  Schweitzer

15

• For Moses said, Honor your father and your
  mother, and, Anyone who curses his father or
  mother must be put to death. But you say that if
  a man says to his father or mother Whatever
  help you might otherwise have received from me is
  Corban (that is, a gift devoted to God), then
  you no longer let him do anything for his father
  or mother.
• Mark 710-12

16

• If anyone does not provide for his relatives,
  and especially for his immediate family, he has
  denied the faith and is worse than an
  unbelieverIf any woman who is a believer has
  widows in her family, she should help them and
  not let the church be burdened with them, so that
  the church can help those widows who are really
  in need.
• 1 Timothy 58, 16

17

• When Jesus saw his mother there, and the
  disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said
  to his mother, Dear woman, here is your son,
  and to the disciple, Here is your mother. From
  that time on, this disciple took her into his
  home.
• John 1926-27

18

• David McKenna
• Affluenza is a strange malady that affects the
  children of well-to-do parents. Though having
  everything money can buy, the children show all
  the symptoms of abject povertydepression,
  anxiety, loss of meaning, and despair for the
  future.

19

• Hope for one parent and one Christian parent
  families
• For the unbelieving husband has been
  sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving
  wife has been sanctified through her believing
  husband. Otherwise your children would be
  unclean, but as it is, they are holy.
• 1 Corinthians 714

20
Teaching Your Children about Money

• Train a child in the way he should go, and when
  he is old he will not turn from it.
• Proverbs 226

21

• These commandments that I give you today are to
  be upon your hearts. Impress them on your
  children. Talk about them when you sit at home
  and when you walk along the road, when you lie
  down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on
  your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write
  them on the doorframes of your houses and on your
  gates.
• Deuteronomy 66-9

22

• Since everything will be destroyed in this
  wayYou ought to live holy and godly lives as you
  look forward to the day of GodThat day will
  bring about the destruction of the heavens by
  fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. So
  we are looking forward to a new heavens and a new
  earth, in which righteousness dwells.
• 2 Peter 311-13
• Family Field Trip to the Dump

23
Raising Stewards and Givers

• Teach them to your children and to their
  children after them.
• Deuteronomy 49
• I have chosen him, so that he will direct his
  children and his household after him to keep the
  way of the Lord by doing what is right and just.
• Genesis 1819

24

• Psalm 78
• What we have heard and known, what our fathers
  have told us. We will not hide them from their
  children we will tell the next generation the
  praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and
  the wonders he has done. He decreed statutesand
  established the law

25

• which he commanded our forefathers to teach
  their children, so the next generation would know
  them, even the children yet to be born, and they
  in turn would tell their children. Then they
  would put their trust in God and would not forget
  his deeds but would keep his commands.
• Psalm 783-7

26

• Bring them up in the training and instruction of
  the Lord.
• Ephesians 64
• The less I spent on myself and the more I gave
  to others, the fuller of happiness and blessing
  did my soul become.
• Hudson Taylor

27
Teaching Children Self-Control

• But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
  patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
  gentleness and self-control. Against such things
  there is no law.
• Galatians 522-23

28

• Titus 2
• You must teach what is in accord with sound
  doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate,
  worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in
  faith, in love and in endurance.

29

• Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent
  in the way they live, not to be slanderers or
  addicted to much wineThen they can train the
  younger women to love their husbands and
  children, to be self-controlled and pureso that
  no one will malign the word of God.

30

• Similarly, encourage the young men to be
  self-controlled. In everything set them an
  example by doing what is good. In your teaching
  show integritythat cannot be condemned, so that
  those who oppose you may be ashamed because they
  have nothing bad to say about us. so that in
  every way they slaves will make the teaching
  about God our Savior attractive.

31

• For the grace of God that brings salvation has
  appeared to all men. It teaches us to say No to
  ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live
  self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this
  present age.
• Titus 21-12

32

• Its normal and healthy not to get whatever you
  want.
• In order for things to be special, they must be
  the exception, not the rule.
• There are higher values than immediate
  gratification.
• There are better ways to use Gods money than to
  follow our impulses.

33
Rewards as Incentives

• Adults are reluctant to utilize rewards because
  they view them as a source of bribery. Our most
  workable teaching device is ignored because of a
  philosophical misunderstanding. Our entire
  society is established on a system of
  reinforcement, yet we dont want to apply it
  where it is needed most with young children.
• James Dobson, Dare to Discipline

34

• And without faith it is impossible to please
  God, because anyone who comes to him must believe
  that 1) he exists and that 2) he rewards those
  who earnestly seek him.
• Hebrews 116

35
Children Who Share

• Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so
  doing some people have entertained angels without
  knowing it.
• Hebrews 132

36
Children Who Are Thankful

• Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all
  his benefits.
• Psalm 1032
• Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is
  Gods will for you in Christ Jesus.
• 1 Thessalonians 518

37
Wrap Up

• Question How would you summarize what you
  have learned from the Scriptures that are the
  backbone of this course?

38

• I continually find it necessary to guard against
  that natural love of wealth and grandeur which
  prompts us always, when we come to apply our
  general doctrine to our own case, to claim an
  exception.
• William Wilberforce

39

• The antagonism between life and conscience may
  be removed in two ways by a change of life or by
  a change of conscience.
• Leo Tolstoy

40
Learning from Each Other

• We have different gifts, according to the grace
  given us. If a mans gift is prophesying. If it
  is serving, let him serve if it is teaching, let
  him teach if it is encouraging, let him
  encourage if it is contributing to the needs of
  others, let him give generously if it is
  leadership, let him govern diligently if it is
  showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
• Romans 126-8

41
Sharing Our Giving Stories

• Be careful not to do your acts of
  righteousness before men, to be seen by them. If
  you do, you will have no reward from your Father
  in heaven.
• Matthew 61

42

• Let your light shine before men, that they may
  see your good deeds and praise your Father in
  heaven.
• Matthew 516
• The people rejoiced at the willing response of
  their leaders, for they had given freely and
  wholeheartedly to the Lord.
• 1 Chronicles 299

43
Should Giving Always Be Kept Secret?
44

• Be careful not to do your acts of
  righteousness before men, to be seen by them.
• When you give to the needy, do not announce it
  with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in synagogues
  and on streetsto be honored by men.
• So when you give to the needy, do not let your
  left hand know what your right hand is doing, so
  that your giving may be in secret. Then your
  Father, who sees what is done in secret, will
  reward you. Matt. 61-5
• Matthew 62

45

• I tell you the truth, they have received their
  reward in full.
• Matthew 65

46

• Selling their possessions and goods, they gave
  to anyone as he had need. Acts
  245
• No one claimed that any of his possessions was
  his own, but they shared everything they had.
  With great power the apostles continued to
  testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
  and much grace was upon them all.

47

• There were no needy persons among them. For from
  time to time those who owned lands or houses sold
  them, brought the money from the sales and put it
  at the apostles feet, and it was distributed to
  anyone as he had need. Acts 432-35
• Question Did anyone notice who sold property
  and gave it away?

48

• Let your light shine before men, that they may
  see your good deeds and praise your Father in
  heaven.
• Matthew 516
• Follow my example, as I follow the example of
  Christ.
• 1 Corinthians 111

49

• The people rejoiced at the willing response of
  their leaders, for they had given freely and
  wholeheartedly to the Lord.
• 1 Chronicles 299
• Your love has given me great joy and
  encouragement, because you, brother, have
  refreshed the hearts of the saints.
• Philemon 17

50

• And now, brothers, we want you to know about the
  grace that God has given the Macedonian churches.
  Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing
  joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich
  generosity. For I testify that they gave as much
  as they were able, and even beyond.
• 2 Corinthians 81-3

51

• As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting
  their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw
  a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.
  I tell you the truth, he said, this poor widow
  has put in more than all the others. All these
  people gave their gifts out of their wealth but
  she out of her poverty put in all she had to live
  on.
• Luke 211-4

52

• And let us consider how we may spur one another
  on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up
  meeting together, as some are in the habit of
  doing, but let us encourage one anotherand all
  the more as you see the Day approaching.
• Hebrews 1024, 25

53
A Sense of Destiny

• If you remain silent at this time, relief and
  deliverance for the Jews will arise from another
  place, but you and your fathers family will
  perish. And who knows but that you have come to
  royal position for such a time as this?
• Esther 414

54
(No Transcript)
55
Give It Now or Give It Later?

• The economy may change and well have less to
  give.
• Our hearts may change and we may not follow
  through with giving.
• Our lives may end before weve given what we
  intended.

56

• Only one life, twill soon be past. Only whats
  done for Christ will last.
• C. T. Studd

57
A Hard Look at Ourselves

• William MacDonald
• Gods will is that our lives should be a
  perpetual crisis of dependence on him. We defeat
  his will in our lives when we lay up treasures on
  earth. The life of faith does not follow
  automatically when a person becomes a Christian.

58

• It requires deliberate action on his part.
  This is especially true in an affluent society.
  The believer must put himself in a position where
  he is compelled to trust God.It is only as he
  gets rid of his reserves and other false supports
  that he can truly launch out into the deep.

59

• How utterly in keeping with this age of grace it
  is for us to sell our prized possessionsour
  diamonds and other jewelry, our original
  paintings, our antique furniture, our sterling
  silver, our stamp collectionsand put the
  proceeds to work in the salvation of souls
  throughout the world.
• William MacDonald, True Discipleship

60

• To this you were called, because Christ suffered
  for you, leaving you an example, that you should
  follow in his steps.
• 1 Peter 221
• If we judged ourselves, we would not come under
  judgment.
• 1 Corinthians 1131

61
Our Accountability as Gods Money Managers

• From everyone who has been given much, much will
  be demanded and from the one who has been
  entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
• Luke 1248

62

• So then, each of us will give an account of
  himself to God.
• Romans 1412
• You have taken possession of the resources that
  belong to Christ and you consume them aimlessly.
  Dont you realize that you are going to be held
  accountable?
• John Chryostom

63

• The Christian far oftener disgraces his
  profession in prosperity than in adversity. It is
  a dangerous thing to be prosperous. The crucible
  of adversity is a less severe trial to the
  Christian than the fining-pot of prosperity. Oh,
  what leanness of soul and neglect of spiritual
  things have been brought on through the very
  mercies and bounties of God!

64

• Yet this is not a matter of necessity, for the
  apostle tells us that he knew how to abound. When
  he had much he knew how to use it. Abundant grace
  enabled him to bear abundant prosperity. When he
  had a full sail he was loaded with much ballast,
  and so floated safely.
• Charles Spurgeon,Morning and Evening

65

• Give, and it will be given to you.
• Luke 638
• So that you can be generous on every occasion.
• 2 Corinthians 911

66

• So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on
  what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary,
  but what is unseen is eternal.
• 2 Corinthians 418

67

• Any temporal possession can be turned into
  everlasting wealth. Whatever is given to Christ
  is immediately touched with immortality.
• A. W. Tozer
• I have held many things in my hands and I have
  lost them all. But whatever I have placed in
  Gods hands, that I still possess.
• Martin Luther

68
(No Transcript)
69
Should Giving Always Be Kept Secret?
70

• But when you give to the needy, do not let your
  left hand know what your right hand is doing, so
  that your giving may be in secret. Then your
  Father, who sees what is done in secret, will
  reward you.
• Matthew 63-4

71

• Be careful not to do your acts of
  righteousness before men, to be seen by them.
• Matthew 61
• When you give to the needy, do not announce it
  with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the
  synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by
  men.
• Matthew 62

72

• I tell you the truth, they have received their
  reward in full.
• Matthew 65
• So when you give to the needy, do not let your
  left hand know what your right hand is doing, so
  that your giving may be in secret.
• Matthew 63-4
• Selling their possessions and goods, they gave
  to anyone as he had need.
  Acts 245

73

• All the believers were one in heart and mind. No
  one claimed that any of his possessions was his
  own, but they shared everything they had. With
  great power the apostles continued to testify to
  the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much
  grace was upon them all.

74

• There were no needy persons among them. For from
  time to time those who owned lands or houses sold
  them, brought the money from the sales and put it
  at the apostles feet, and it was distributed to
  anyone as he had need.
• Acts 432-35

75

• Let your light shine before men, that they may
  see your good deeds and praise your Father in
  heaven.
• Matthew 516
• Follow my example, as I follow the example of
  Christ.
• 1 Corinthians 111

76

• So when you give to the needy, do not announce
  it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the
  synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by
  men. I tell you the truth, they have received
  their reward in full. But when you give to the
  needy, do not let your left hand know what your
  right hand is doing, so that your giving may be
  in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is
  done in secret, will reward you.
• Matthew 62-4

77

• The people rejoiced at the willing response of
  their leaders, for they had given freely and
  wholeheartedly to the Lord.
• 1 Chronicles 299
• Your love has given me great joy and
  encouragement, because you, brother, have
  refreshed the hearts of the saints.
• Philemon 17

78

• Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing
  joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich
  generosity. For I testify that they gave as much
  as they were able, and even beyond their ability.
  Entirely on their own.
• 2 Corinthians 82-3

79

• When you pray, go into your room, close the door
  and pray to your Father, who is unseen.
• Matthew 66
• Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth
  agree about anything you ask for, it will be done
  for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or
  three come together in my name, there am I with
  them.
• Matthew 1819-20

80

• As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting
  their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw
  a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.
  I tell you the truth, he said, this poor widow
  has put in more than all the others. All these
  people gave their gifts out of their wealth but
  she out of her poverty put in all she had to live
  on.
• Luke 211-4

81

• And let us consider how we may spur one another
  on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up
  meeting together, as some are in the habit of
  doing, but let us encourage one anotherand all
  the more as you see the Day approaching.
• Hebrews 1024, 25

82
(No Transcript)
83
Financial Integrityand Accountabilityin
Churches and Ministries
84

• What is more, he was chosen by the churches to
  accompany us as we carry the offering, which we
  administer in order to honor the Lord himself and
  to show our eagerness to help.
• 2 Corinthians 819

85

• We want to avoid any criticism of the way we
  administer this liberal gift.
• 2 Corinthians 820
• We are taking pains to do what is right, not
  only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes
  of men.
• 2 Corinthians 821

86

• In addition, we are sending with them our
  brother who has often proved to us in many ways
  that he is zealous, and now even more so because
  of his great confidence in you. As for Titus, he
  is my partner and fellow worker among you as for
  our brothers, they are representatives of the
  churches and an honor to Christ.
• 2 Corinthians 822-23

87

• Christians need to tighten up the scrutinizing
  of all funds holding their monies and to insist
  on all the accepted safeguards and controls and
  on all the strictest procedures.
• David B. Barrett,World Christian Trend

88
Lending Money, Charging Interest, and Co-signing
a Loan
89

• The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the
  righteous give generouslyThey are always
  generous and lend freely their children will be
  blessed.
• Psalm 3721, 26
• Good will come to him who is generous and lends
  freely, who conducts his affairs with justice.
• Psalm 1125

90

• At the end of every seven years you must cancel
  debts. This is how it is to be done Every
  creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his
  fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment
  from his fellow Israelite or brother, because the
  LORDs time for canceling debts has been
  proclaimed. You may require payment from a
  foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your
  brother owes you.
• Deuteronomy 151-3

91

• When the neighboring peoples bring merchandise
  or grain to sell on the Sabbath, we will not buy
  from them on the Sabbath or on any holy day.
  Every seventh year we will forgo working the land
  and will cancel all debts.
• Nehemiah 1031

92

• And if you lend to those from whom you expect
  repayment, what credit is that to you? Even
  sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be
  repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to
  them, and lend to them without expecting to get
  anything back. Then your reward will be great,
  and you will be sons of the Most High, because he
  is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
• Luke 634-35

93

• The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the
  righteous give generously.
• Psalm 3721
• Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven
  our debtors.
• Matthew 612

94
Charging Interest

• If you take your neighbors cloak as a pledge,
  return it to him by sunset, because his cloak is
  the only covering he has for his body. What else
  will he sleep in? When he cries out to me, I will
  hear, for I am compassionate.
• Exodus 2226-27

95

• When you make a loan of any kind to your
  neighbor, do not go into his house to get what he
  is offering as a pledge. Stay outside and let the
  man to whom you are making the loan bring the
  pledge out to you. If the man is poor, do not go
  to sleep with his pledge in your possession.
  Return his cloak to him by sunset so that he may
  sleep in it. Then he will thank you, and it will
  be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of
  the LORD your God.

96

• Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor
  and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or
  an alien living in one of your towns. Pay him his
  wages each day before sunset, because he is poor
  and is counting on it. Otherwise he may cry to
  the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of
  sin.

97

• Fathers shall not be put to death for their
  children, nor children put to death for their
  fathers each is to die for his own sin.
• Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of
  justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a
  pledge.
• Deuteronomy 2410-17

98

• Do not charge your brother interest, whether on
  money or food or anything else that may earn
  interest. You may charge a foreigner interest,
  but not a brother Israelite, so that the LORD
  your God may bless you in everything you put your
  hand to in the land you are entering to possess.
• Deuteronomy 2319-20

99

• If you lend money to one of my people among you
  who is needy, do not be like a moneylender
  charge him no interest.
• Exodus 2225

100

• If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is
  unable to support himself among you, help him as
  you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he
  can continue to live among you. Do not take
  interest of any kind from him, but fear your God,
  so that your countryman may continue to live
  among you. You must not lend him money at
  interest or sell him food at a profit.
• Leviticus 2535-37

101

• You may charge a foreigner interest, but not a
  brother Israelite, so that the LORD your God may
  bless you in everything you put your hand to in
  the land you are entering to possess.
• Deuteronomy 2320

102

• Rather be openhanded and freely lend him
  whatever he needs.Give generously to him and do
  so without a grudging heart then because of this
  the LORD your God will bless you in all your work
  and in everything you put your hand to.
• Deuteronomy 158, 10

103

• If any of you has a dispute with another, dare
  he take it before the ungodly for judgment
  instead of before the saints? Do you not know
  that the saints will judge the world? And if you
  are to judge the world, are you not competent to
  judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will
  judge angels? How much more the things of this
  life!

104

• Therefore, if you have disputes about such
  matters, appoint as judges even men of little
  account in the church! I say this to shame you.
  Is it possible that there is nobody among you
  wise enough to judge a dispute between believers?
  But instead, one brother goes to law against
  anotherand this in front of unbelievers!

105

• The very fact that you have lawsuits among you
  means you have been completely defeated already.
  Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be
  cheated?
• 1 Corinthians 61-7

106

• Why then didnt you put my money on deposit, so
  that when I came back, I could have collected it
  with interest?
• Luke 1923

107
Signing for Another Persons Loans

• He who puts up security for another will surely
  suffer, but whoever refuses to strike hands in
  pledge is safe.
• Proverbs 1115

108

• Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge or
  puts up security for debts if you lack the means
  to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under
  you.
• Proverbs 2226-27

109

• My son, if you have put up security for your
  neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge for
  another, if you have been trapped by what you
  said, ensnared by the words of your mouth, then
  do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have
  fallen into your neighbors hands Go and humble
  yourself press your plea with your neighbor!
  Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your
  eyelids. Free yourself, like a gazelle from the
  hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of
  the fowler.
• Proverbs 61-5

110

• A man lacking in judgment strikes hands in
  pledge and puts up security for his neighbor.
• Proverbs 1718

111
Practical Guidelines toControl Spending

• Realize that nothing is a good deal if you cant
  afford it.
• Recognize that God isnt behind every good deal.
• Understand the difference between spending money
  and saving money.

112

• Look at the long-term cost, not just the
  short-term expense.
• Pray before you spend.
• Examine every purchase in light of its ministry
  potential.
• Understand and resist the manipulative nature of
  advertising.

113

• Learn to walk away from things you want but dont
  need.
• Realize that little things add up.
• Set up a budget and live by it.
• Be sure you know the condition of your flocks,
  give careful attention to your herds for riches
  do not endure forever.
• Proverbs 2723-24

114

• Can a man be poor if he is free from want, if he
  does not covet the belongings of others, if he is
  rich in the possession of God? Rather, he is poor
  who possesses much but still craves for more.
• Tertullian, AD 198

115
Overall Lessons from the Stewardship Parables

• The long-term significance of todays behavior
  and choices. How we handle Gods assets in our
  present daily life has tremendous bearing on
  eternal realities.

116

• The inevitability of consequences for all our
  actions.
• Do not be deceived God cannot be mocked. A man
  reaps what he sows. Galatians 67

117

• Our painstaking responsibility to choose wisely
  and live rightly. The masters absence is both a
  challenge and an opportunity to prove ourselves
  worthy to be elevated to greater responsibility.

118

• Our clear-cut incentives and motivations. Unwise
  stewards are lazy, but wise stewards are diligent
  and highly motivated. They know their master well
  enough to know there will be lasting consequences
  for their labor, whether good or bad.

119

• Our preoccupation with responsibilities, not
  rights. As stewards our rights are limited by our
  lack of ownership. We carry no sense of
  entitlement to the assets we manage. Its our job
  to find out what the owner wants done with his
  assets, then carry out his will.

120

• If we focus on the masters rights, well
  fulfill our responsibilities. If we focus on what
  we think we deserve, on what we think our master
  or others owe us, we lose perspective. The
  quality of our service deteriorates rapidly.

121

• The meaninglessness of everyone elses
  evaluation compared to the judgment of our one
  master.
• each of us will give an account of himself to
  God.
• Who are you to judge someone elses servant? To
  his own master he stands or falls. Rom. 143-4,
  12