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The first question to ask is: are you a good parental steward?
Key verse: Luke 12:42 “Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes will find so doing.”
The principle of stewardship begins in the mind. It is a perspective of realizing that everything we have was given to us by God. When we think of “stewardship,” we normally think about money. There is nothing wrong with money, and in the Luke parable, the Lord commends us when we are good stewards of it. Take the average investor, for example, and how diligently he/she applies himself/herself to his task. He/she faithfully studies the stock market, analyzes and re-analyzes his/her portfolio, sells the weaker investments and buys the promising ones. He/she keeps up with the latest journals and business articles that contain the experts’ recommendations. He/she reads The Wall Street Journal, logs onto the Internet, and watches every market variation. His/her mind is totally engaged in his/her task: the pursuit of wealth.
If God has given us money, then we should be diligent in how we manage and share it. What about our stewardship of the children we are given? They, too, are gifts, entrusted to us by God. Yes, the Lord will ask us to give account of how we are caring for these precious ones:
- Are we as diligent in practicing consistent parenting skills as we are in earning more money or pursuing our hobbies?
- Do we study the Scriptures and daily ask God to make us better parents?
- Do we take time to pray and play with our child?
- Do we regularly take him/her to a worship service?
- Do we read books or listen to tapes that offer tips about becoming better parents?
- Are we involved in his/her schoolwork?
- Do we know and spend time with him/her and his/her friends?
- Do we encourage him/her to participate in extracurricular activities?
- Do we stop whatever we are doing, give him/her our eyes, and LISTEN to him/her? If we do not, he/she will find someone who will, and that person will have more influence in his/her life than we.
Each of the above takes time, and self-sacrifice. That is being a diligent parental steward. There are no shortcuts.
