When you’re staying at a hotel, do you bring pictures along and nail them up on the walls? Do you leave the water running all day? Do you rip up the towels and use them as rags to clean your car? No. Because you don’t own the hotel room.

The Bible says that “the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1). We aren’t owners of our stuff. We are stewards. 

Steward is a word that means “caretaker.” God owns all your stuff and asks you to take care of it in a way that honors him, thanks him, and shows him that you can handle bigger and better things.

Do you appreciate the great joy in this? Think back to the hotel. Do you have to make the bed, wash the towels, or fix the air conditioner? No! The owner is obligated to take care of that. 

“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8). 

Instead of your stuff owning you, God owns your stuff and owns you. By his gracious choice, he’s obligated.

More than that, he is able.

Dear God, your gifts and grace to me are too generous. And my appreciation is less than I’d like. Teach me true joy in your ownership, joy that frees me from owning what already belongs to you. Amen.