Had it been me, I wouldn’t have even bothered to offer.

But when faced with the need to feed thousands of hungry people, a boy offers his small lunch of five barley loaves and two small fish (John 6:1-14).

I would have thought so little of what I had that I wouldn’t have even considered it worth offering. I would have only come forward if I could afford to throw a great feast -a well organized event with every detail meticulously choreographed and rehearsed. And, if I can be honest, I would have done it, not primarily to help, but so that my offering would reflect well on me.

My attitude would have been that the little I have is nothing, so I will do nothing with it at all. I believe this was the attitude of the wicked servant in the Parable Of The Talents in Matthew 25:14-30. When called to give an account by his master for what he had been given, the servant feigns respect and claims that it was for fear of loss that he treated his stewardship like trash. But, I believe the Master saw right through that and recognized the servant’s disdain immediately. The Master saw that his attitude was, “What you gave me was not worth bothering to do anything with”. No wonder why, instead of just loosing his stewardship, the servant was cast into outer darkness! This is an arrogant, lazy and wicked attitude that I find I am also guilty of.

Lord, I am sorry and I repent!

Jesus taught in another account of stewardship that whoever is faithful with a little is faithful with much and how you handle what you have now determines what will be committed to you later. There are a plethora of books and courses aimed at discontent people promising to improve our pitiful lot with titles like “From Zero to Hero” and “From Nothing To Everything”. But, the truth is that none of us have “nothing”. God has granted something to everyone. The question is have we been diligent to take inventory of what we have and are we being faithful with it? Are we aiming to make maximum use of what we’ve been given so to return the best possible profit for the One who gave us our stewardship?

I confess that I could do a lot better. It begins with becoming as a child, like the boy with the five barley loaves and two small fish -having a heart that gives no consideration to how it may make me look but simply making what I have available for Jesus to use.

In the days we live in it seems that many of the issues we’re faced with are insurmountable. But, we were chosen for such a time as this. He has given us everything we need to be salt and light in the earth right now. Therefore, it is my intent from this day forth to remember the example of the boy and his lunch, offer what I have in faith and trust God for the rest.

There are at least two things I believe I can contribute as salt and light and this is where I’ll start:
1. Helping people achieve sufficiency through entrepreneurship to provide for their families and invest into the uplift of their communities.
2. Walking with couples to build successful marriages and families that glorify God and serve as a dependable vehicle to transfer wealth and knowledge for future generations.

It’s a work in progress but here’s a rough draft of the vision and plan.

For more information about the entrepreneurship courses and community, see here: https://bit.ly/3wT8yNE

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