On Azimuth

¹ The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, ² for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Psalm 24:1-2 English Standard Version

            As a full-fledged member of twenty-first century Western Civilization, I accept and  imbibe in the concept of personal ownership, acquiring stuff at an alarming rate. I avoid bookstores and garage sales. I know that if I go in, I’ll find something that I just can’t live without. I have allowed myself to be shaped by our rampant consumerism. Our modern world measures our success by how much stuff we have. In a like fashion, we measure our national success by how many goods and services we make, provide, and sell, expressed as Gross Domestic Product, or GDP. Despite our muscular productivity; in many ways we fail as a nation.

            Every city has its poor and homeless. We see, and perhaps avoid, them on street corners holding up tattered cardboard signs seeking help. In 2024 over seven hundred thousand people experienced homelessness. 18.3 million American households experienced some level of food insecurity during 2024. Despite these tragic figures, the U.S. remains the richest country in the world measured by GDP.  If your rank nations by per capita GDP we slip to number eleven; which demonstrates the vast gulf between the haves and have nots. Of course, this is nothing new. As Jesus said in Matthew 26:11, “¹¹ For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.”

            But we cannot take this as an authorization to ignore or abandon the poor. Rather, it is an indictment of our human proclivity toward greed. Saint Basil a bishop in fourth century Caesarea said, “When someone steals another’s clothes, we call them a thief. Should we not give the same name to one who could clothe the naked and does not? The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the coat unused in your closet belongs to the one who needs it; the shoes rotting in your closet belong to the one who has no shoes; the money which you hoard up belongs to the poor.”

            Basil understood what I forget, truly God owns everything. He made it and it is all His. According to the Genesis account, God put us in the garden to tend, not own, Genesis 2:15. We are caretakers, custodians, or stewards, not owners. A steward does not own. A steward takes care of or administers the property and resources of the owner. God puts things into my hands for me to glorify His name, often by helping those who are in need. I should use the property, goods, or cash passing into my hands in ways that forward His cause. Self-aggrandizing and accruing more for the sake of more is not in line with a steward’s mission. God will evaluate me by the quality of my stewarding, not the quantity of my bank account. In a particularly grim passage, Jesus points this out at the end of the parable of the Rich Fool.

¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ ²¹ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:19-21

            I do not believe that God calls us to live in hovels and wear hair-suits; however, He does expect me to have a proper understanding and relationship with the goods He has placed into my hands. When He brings me into a relationship with Him, He reorients my understanding of “things.” They are no longer indicators of my success or status. They become tools. Tools that I may use to benefit those around me who endure greater challenges than I do. Tools that I may use to forward those issues that God holds close to His heart. Tools that I can use to engage in activities that glorify His name.

Thought Questions:

1. Do you consider the belongings around you yours or the Lord’s?
2. Do you consider yourself an owner or a steward?
3. Do you actively use the resources God has placed into your hands to benefit others?
4. Does your stewardship glorify God or merely satiate your own desires?
5. Do you own your possessions or do they own you?