Stewardship

Today, Rev Jon was preaching. His usual opening would be a joke. Pretty funny.

Here's how the joke went. (Rephrase and re-edit by me)

There was once an atheist. He was lost in the forest and he came across a hungry bear. The bear ran towards him and wanted to attack him. As the bear rose its paws and was about to attack the atheist, the atheist, out of desperation, called out to God for help.
And that moment froze. A beam of light shone onto the atheist. And followed was a voice. The voice of God.

God:"Why did you call me to help you when all your life you tell others that I never existed? So how do you expect me to help you if I never existed?"

Atheist:"Well, if I were to say I believe in you and need Your help, I may be seen as a hypocrite. Hmmmmm..... How about You make the bear a Chrisitan?"

God:"Ok, that's a fair deal."

And with a snap of the finger, everything reversed to the point when the bear was about to struck the atheist.

And the bear rose its paws.................gripped them together and...............gave thanks for the food that was laid before it.........

Funney siah! Though I can't really remember how this joke links to the sermon! (Rev Jon did link it to the sermon, just tat I can't remember) And you will think that I also couldn't remember the sermon, right? WRONG! I remembered. I take notes!

Rev Jon was preaching about 'giving', especially in such financial crisis time. This is not about 'ko yok' selling but rather was from a very biblical and wholistic view of 'giving'.

Scripture: 2 Cor 9:6-15

1) GIVE INTENTIONALLY

In v7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

2) GIVE FREELY

Ok! I can't really remember the actual content of the sermon but these are my after thoughts of the whole sermon.

Why is it so hard to tithe 10%? I believe because we see the 10% as a kind of obligation or 'taxation law' that we have 'no choice' but to follow. With such a state of heart, the 10% is like slicing a piece of meat of our flesh. We fail to understand why we are giving. Does God need our money? No! In fact, all things come from Him. It's an irony to say that we are giving to the Lord! We are just returning them to the Lord. As I ponder upon this, I realise something. The concept of STEWARDSHIP.

Stewarship in the sense that everything that we have, we are tasked to do, we come across, relationship that we are involved are all from the Lord and all these are placed in our care till the Lord calls us home. Our possessions are from the Lord. Money, car, house etc are from the Lord and are we putting it to good use. Not just for our own pleasure but are we using such things that is edifying and glorifying to God. I always remember a friend, Johnny Jong who always say that the car he has is from the Lord and he will always quick to offer his help to drive people around.

Career. Indeed, the opportunity to earn a living is from the Lord. More than just doing the work well and being paid, are we being a good testimony in our workplace? Are we able to show good management of our relationship with our superior, peers and subordinates, bearing in mind that anyone, inclusive of ourself, can be difficult?

Relationship. Any kind of relationship? Are we being responsible towards the other party? Especially with our parents and siblings. I never chose my parents, especially my dad!!! He is so difficult to handle. He is so different from the whole family. He is so demanding. I can choose to say, "I don't care! It is his own problem." But if I really think about it, though I have no 'say' in choosing my father, it is God who have placed him as my father. Can I just simply say 'I don't care.' That is outright defiance against God. I have learnt to be more patient and loving towards my dad though it is still hard. But I learnt that the Lord has placed my dad in my care and that will be what I will do.

This is just a thought. I haven't really sit down to dwell and brew upon it. But I do believe with this grasping and understanding of stewardship, I will learn to be self-less and more outward looking towards people. Just like what Christ is! He came as a SERVANT-KING!!!