When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 1 Corinthians 13:11
“When we have a spirit of thanksgiving we can hold all things lightly. We receive; we do not grab. And when it is time to let go, we do so freely. We are not owners, only stewards. Our lives do not consist of the things that we have, for we live and move and breathe in God, not things. And may I add that this includes those intangible “things” that are often our greatest treasures-status, reputation, position. These are the things that come and go in life, and we can learn to be thankful when they come and thankful when they go.”
Richard Foster in The Challenge of the Disciplined Life: Christian Reflections on Money, Sex, and Power (HarperOne: San Francisco, 1979) 49.
I got to spend the day with my two granddaughters recently. They turned 3 years old and 1 year old back in April and I find joy watching them grow up. When I read the word, grab, in today’s reading I thought of them.
Children grab for things. They love to carry them around. And when they see what someone else has, they seem to only want to grab what the other person has. They grab for things and hold them tight.
God wants us to move beyond this way of thinking. He wants us to live open-handed lives as stewards and to share things freely. And He wants us to hold tightly to things more important than money and possessions as we age.
Today I feel a burden and passion to make sure my granddaughters get this. Do you have little people in your life that you can teach about stewardship and generosity? Make the most of the opportunity to teach them and set a generous example.