Stewards of Privilege

The Lord has given to us many blessings and those blessings should not be squandered nor taken for granted.  Instead, we ought to be faithful stewards of our blessings.  I am convinced that the greatest earthly stewardship of all parents is their children.  God has given to every parent the great privilege to love and nurture, teach and learn, laugh and sorrow alongside those unique human beings with eternal souls.  Though they often can test us, children are  a blessing as Psalm 127 reminds us.  Despite their sin and foolishness, I would rather be their dad than anything else.     Sadly, as my own children grow year by year, I am increasingly being made aware that this stewardship will quickly pass.  I will occasionally look at past Bradford yearbooks and wonder how those small kids have grown up so quickly.  These precious lives are a stewardship.

Like most parents, I want the best for my children.  Within the limits of my providential resources I am determined to give them every possible blessing I can. The hard reality is not that I want or desire the best for them, but the real challenge is learning what the best is. I have to recognize that to be a wise steward of the great privilege of children, I need to be clear what the best means.  That is where the hard work begins; that is where we need wisdom and discernment.  Knowing how to be the best steward of God’s blessing requires God’s instructions and the Spirit to guide us.

You can be sure that there are many voices speaking to us about parenting and how to raise our kids.  There are many voices claiming to be experts but at the end of the day,  I will always turn to the Word of God to teach me how to steward that great gift of children that He has placed in my charge.  Before I turn to Dr. Dobson, Dr. Phil, Dr. Spock, Piaget, Erickson, or any other voice, I need to listen to the inspired Word of God.

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” I Tim. 3:16-17

In this text the Apostle Paul was reminding his young apprentice pastor that the Bible was sufficient to equip him in everything that a godly pastor needs to accomplish.  If the Word is sufficient for EVERY GOOD WORK, and being a wise steward of our children surely qualifies as a good work, then surely the Word of God is sufficient to help us identify what is best for them.  Do we believe that?

In short I believe that every parent, myself included, needs to think through biblical principles more often and more thoroughly when it comes to our stewardship.  We are too often tossed about by every new fad, theory, or trend.  Too often, we are instructed more by our emotions, selfish desires, or fatigue.  If we want to be faithful stewards of this great privilege, we need to hear from Him who entrusted us with this stewardship.  Peace and Grace.