“Stewardship of Health”

Emotional Health

Many times we tend to place more burdens on ourselves than is necessary.  We may experience frustration whenever our priorities are not rightly aligned.  For example, we may have a desire to earn a specific income or acquire a particular position in our vocation or our church and the failure to do so may cause us to lose sleep, become depressed, or develop a poor attitude.  Browsing the internet and watching snapshots of other people’s lives and comparing our “insignificant” lives with the perception of the other person’s success can leave us feeling unfulfilled, inadequate, or lead us into depression. 

Another contributor to people becoming emotionally drained is the failure to establish proper boundaries with others.  While we should be available to listen to the problems and concerns of others, there is a point in which we need to make ourselves unavailable so that we can have an opportunity to regroup and recover from the burdens of others that we may have taken on ourselves.  Once we have been recharged we are free to engage them once more.  In John 11:35 we see that Jesus wept as He felt the pain of Mary and the others who were distressed over the death of Lazarus.  Although He knew that He was about to restore the life of Lazarus, Jesus still took a moment to express His compassion and to grieve with those who were grieving.  After expressing His sympathy for those who were hurting, Jesus resumed the mission that He was there to fulfill.

Experiencing poor emotional health can also be the result of a lack of trust in God.  As Jerry Bridges points out in his book, Trusting God, “If there is a single event in all of the universe that can occur outside of God’s sovereign control, then we cannot trust Him.  His love may be infinite, but if His power is limited and His purpose can be thwarted, we cannot trust Him.”    

In summary, it is possible to experience emotional instability when we lack balance in our perspective and when we fail to make Jesus our source.  While trusting God requires more than making an emotional decision, doing so does benefit us EMOTIONALLY.  We conclude with one final quote from Jerry’s book:  “Trusting God is not a matter of my feelings but of my will.  I never feel like trusting God when adversity strikes, but I can choose to do so even when I don’t feel like it.  That act of the will, though, must be based on belief, and belief must be based on truth.”

 “Stewardship of Health”

Stewardship of our Health

First Corinthians 6:19-20 reminds believers in Christ that He completely owns us.  The Scripture acknowledges, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God’s.” 

As we continue to examine the significance of stewardship, we zero in on an area that is often overlooked or taken for granted:  health.  While we are responsible for maintaining our physical health, it is important to understand that we should also focus on our spiritual, mental, and emotional health as well.  Many times we are unable to function as we should because we have not maintained our physical bodies in proper health.  It is important to ensure that we receive adequate rest so that we are able to perform physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

Physical

Our physical body is the part of us that we may be the most consciously aware of because it houses our five senses.  One important component for maintaining our physical health is rest.  When we do not make a point to rest our bodies, we become susceptible to different types of sicknesses.  While adults understand that rest is vital for the healthy growth of children, we also have to understand that rest is just as essential for adults. 

Along with rest, proper exercise and diet are necessary for experiencing a good quality of life.  The older we get, the more our bodies wear down.  Walking is an extremely good exercise to maintain cardiovascular health. 

Preaching is one responsibility that requires an individual’s heart to be healthy.  When a pastor is projecting their voice or talking for long periods of time, they are exerting energy and their heart is getting a workout.  If they are not mindful to exercise regularly, their hearts will have to work even harder.  Preaching and teaching are speaking gifts that require us to maintain good physical health.  Along with exercise, it is equally important to maintain a healthy and balanced diet.  The foods we eat can have an effect on our mood, our ability to rest, and our health since it can make us susceptible to multiple diseases. 

In summary, we understand that we are stewards and it is our responsibility to properly care for the bodies that have been entrusted to us.  In order for us to fulfill this task, it is necessary for us to get proper rest, have a healthy diet and maintain a regular exercise regimen.    

 “Stewardship of Time”

Time with Others

The final topic that we will address in the area of stewardship of time is the subject of spending time with others.  God expects for us to engage in healthy relationships with others within the body of Christ.  As we focus on important principles found within the word of God, we learn in Proverbs 27:17 that, “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”  Life will present us with many challenges and it is imperative that we have people in our lives who can walk with us through our most difficult trials.

When we spend time developing appropriate relationships within the body of Christ, we have the privilege of spending time with those who have the ability to encourage us as well as hold us accountable.  In a world that has devolved to the degree that many people view standards as a violation of their rights, it is necessary for us to surround ourselves with others who still believe that implementing a Godly standard in our lives is the best method for functioning in life. 

Many jewels can be found in Hebrews 10:23-25 in regard to the way that believers should interact with one another.  It reads, ²³ Let’s hold firmly to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; ²⁴ and let’s consider how to encourage one another in love and good deeds, ²⁵ not abandoning our own meeting together, as is the habit of some people, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. 

Some have come to believe that it is no longer necessary for us to fellowship together.  However, the Bible does not support this irrational belief.  Although being in the presence of other believers may provide spiritual stability, we can receive physical, mental and psychological benefits from our communion as well.  We should be diligent to fellowship with other believers and EVEN MORE SO as we observe continued denigration of the world. 

Relationships take time to strengthen and solidify.  Whether we are managing time in our relationship with God, our family, or our brothers and sisters in Christ, we must be good stewards of our time.         

 “Stewardship of Time”

Time with Family

Another important area in time management is family time.  Many marriages have dissolved because people assumed that preaching and performing other ministry activities were more important than the marriage.  When the marriage dissolved, they believed that the devil had destroyed their marriage.  While the devil is an opportunist, and will enter any opening that he sees, 2 truths need be considered.  1)  God is greater and more powerful than the devil and has the ability to preserve everything that He has given to us.  He will never require us to work for Him and not protect what He has given us while we are performing the task He has required of us.  2)  God is a God of balance and He expects for us to live our lives in a balanced manner.  He doesn’t require a married person to spend unreasonable amounts of time away from the home. 

The Bible offers appropriate and reliable teaching in many areas of life.  As it relates to marriage, First Corinthians 7:32-34 reveals, there is a difference in the performance of individuals who are married and those who are single.  Single men and women have the freedom to focus completely on the things of God and how their devotion may be pleasing to Him.  However, this Scripture also indicates that married people, in addition to pleasing God, also have a requirement and duty to focus on their spouse and to do what is necessary to please them.  For married couples, pleasing God involves fulfilling their responsibility to please one another.      

God also requires parents to spend ample time investing in the raising of their children.  While life and other responsibilities can demand a huge portion of our time, it is necessary for a parent to be diligent in dedicating time to teach and train their children.  Deuteronomy 6:5-7 gives an indication of how much time is required in raising children.  It says, ⁵ “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  ⁶ These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.  ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.” 

Today, many parents have outsourced the responsibility of raising their children.  As a result of a lack of proper time being spent with their children, many children have developed antipathy for God.  People used to say that preacher’s kids were the worst kids around.  In many cases it was the result of a lack of necessary time being spent disciplining and cultivating them into who God wanted them to be.  Many times their rebellion stemmed from them being replaced by ministry.  Not God, but ministry.  In some situations the parent spent excessive time traveling for ministry or attending daily church services while the child longed for some alone time with their parents outside of the church.  In cases like this, fanaticism caused an unhealthy atmosphere in the rearing of many children and some grew up to despise the God that their parents loved.

Overall, the Bible teaches that there should be a healthy interaction between spouses and between parents and children.  A failure to nurture both can lead to future undesirable effects.  Resentment and animosity can develop as a result of neglecting those to whom we have an obligation to.  Many spouses have experienced a void in their relationship due to a lack of quality time spent building the connection.  Parents have also encountered a distance in the relationship with their grown children as a result of failing to invest proper time in them as they were growing up.

Finding balance in the distribution of our time can be extremely difficult.  Many people have learned to budget their money responsibly.  They have determined how much money they will save, how much money they will spend and the amount of money that they are willing to give away.  In like manner, learning to balance our time effectively requires us to sit down and create a budget for disseminating the time that we have been allocated.