Guard what has been entrusted to your care. (1 Tim. 6:20)
I was in charge of everything, yet nothing was mine. I had been asked to care for the valuables of a family while they went away. Under my care was a nice house, a vehicle I could not afford, and a dog I did not like very much. I felt powerful, almost boastful. I was a young man in charge of all these expensive things. The irony was that I could not treat the family’s belongings as mine. I was only meant to guard their things; I did not own them.
Paul warned Timothy about those who desire riches. Next, he addressed those who were indeed rich. His message: All things come from God. Thus, “richness” cannot be measured by what one can accumulate, but by the way one acts, doing good to others and being generous. There is no place for arrogance. Everything belongs to God; people are simply meant to take care of that which is his.
Life in the kingdom tends to be counterintuitive. Some would say living that way is to be ignorant. But, like Timothy, we must be careful with opposing ideas that claim access to better knowledge. In a sense, we are taking care of Jesus’ belongings. They must be guarded, treasured, and preserved intact. While we may get to enjoy them, they are not ours.
Praise God for five things he has entrusted to your care.
Luigi Peñaranda is an assistant professor of Christian ministry at Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University.
© 2019 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.
