Good Stewardship in the Home, Part 1

This is something that has been on my heart for a while. As wives and mothers, we are sometimes swept away with the minutiae of the home; dishes, diapers, baths, floors, etc... and we forget to be good stewards in what we do. We ask, "Is this a good use of our time?" instead of, "Is this the best use of our time?"

There are many ways we can exemplify good stewardship as Christian women. Matthew 25 is all about preparation and stewardship; first, the story of the wise and foolish virgins. Some who are ready, having bought ahead in preparation for the arrival of the Bridegroom and some that didn't think past the moment and the excitement of the future to actually plan ahead for it. And then the parable of the Talents, where Jesus instructs us to use whatever we are given to invest, looking forward to the time in which we will have to give an answer for what we did with what we were given. Every one has something different that God has given them and expects them to use wisely. For some, God  have them money and they will be responsible to God for how and where they spend it. For others it is freedom, and God will expect to have it used for His service and not frittered away.

We as wives and mothers are held responsible for how we and our children spend our time; whether we invest it in kingdom work or whether we squander it on harmful or even "just" silly things.

We are responsible for our resources; making sure our pennies count, to maximize the funds our husbands give us in trust.

We are responsible for using our gifts; hospitality, mercy, teaching. It does not matter whether we have little or much, we need to use it. Invest it. Make sure we are getting a return on what we are putting in.

We need to ask ourselves daily; what am I investing in? And what kind of return can I look for from this? Can I invest in something that will bring me a greater return? Can I increase my return by investing more in this? Our lives must be active. We can not afford to be passive about how we spend our time or our talents.

Today I want to pose some questions to think about. Are we being active participants in life? Are we evaluating our days with the thought of making the most of it, in the light of our Master?

We can not be passive about how we direct our children day in and day out. Because we know that guaranteed, if we don't direct them in the way in which they should go, someone else will. And when God asks us what we did with the children (talents) He gave us, we can't sit back and say, "Well, I was afraid to invest them" or "I invested in the best education and a great church with an on fire Sunday School/Youth Group for them". The buck stops with you. God holds you responsible. And if we are not constantly evaluating how we spend our time, talent and resources, they will be gone before we know it and so will our children.