Well Managed?
Good morning from Managua, Nicaragua!
This week I had my first opportunity of 2014 to share with the teenagers in El Canyon. This morning I would like to briefly share what I shared with them as it is relevant to all of us. Going into a new year gives us the opportunity to think about how we are living and whether it is time for a change. The reality is everyday provides the same opportunity, but entering a new year tends to create a lot more energy than entering a new twenty-four hours. As we enter 2014, I would like to pose a question – do our lives reflect our Creator’s intentions when he created us and put us on earth?
On Monday night I asked the same question to the young people in El Canyon. In the Bible, the book of Genesis talks a lot about our creation and who we were created to be. In the first chapter of Genesis, it says, “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.'” (Genesis 1:28, NIV) There is certainly much debate about the creation account in the Bible, but assuming that these words and the rest of the account are true, it seems that God put us in charge of caring for and managing this world. Even if you are skeptical about the Bible and the Creation Story, I would ask you to consider this morning if you are doing a good job of fulfilling that job. As I asked the teenagers, if I let you borrow my vehicle and allowed you to use it for your benefit, how would you care for it? Just as God is still the owner of the earth and everything in it, I am still the owner of the vehicle. I think most people would make sure to care for the vehicle and to keep it running at its best because they would recognize that they have been given a job that comes with a lot of responsibility. Do we view the earth this way? What about our lives?
This morning I would like to challenge all of us to consider how we are doing as stewards of this world and of our own lives. We have been given a ton of responsibility and authority over the animals, the earth itself, our resources and our lives. God has allowed us to choose how we are going to manage these precious creations. In 2014 I hope to do a better job of being a great steward of all that God has put in my hands, my own life included. With much power comes much responsibility and I hope to take that responsibility seriously. I would ask that you consider doing the same in 2014 as we will all be better off for it.
– James Belt
In2theRiver 
Well said James!
Thanks!