One year on and on the same passage I was asked to speak
The conclusion is that from it, more lessons we should seek
God has a sense of humour, I said as an aside
For today's title came from last year's final slide
A lesson learned is that when our minas and talents grow
Stewardship is what we do with them, as we now know
"Be A Good Steward...Going Beyond Finances" was today's topic
About stewardship of talents, opportunities, and self I also did pick
Managing what we have been given is how stewardship is defined
Making a profit for our Master is our objective, I did remind
The concept of stewardship is evident in Luke 19 verses 12 - 27
There is a parallel between the rich man and God in heaven
In the finance field, savings equals investments economists say
We need savings to fund growth - and to help on a rainy day
We must tithe first, as in Proverbs 11:24 we do see
Else we are robbing God, per Malachi chapter three
Second, some savings we should set aside, per 1 Corinthians 16:2
That is also what erudite Benjamin Franklin said we should do
Keeping track of what we spend is helpful hint the third
So we can know what we can change, so we heard
From a spiritual angle, everything comes from God above
So we should tithe and bless others freely and with love
Then He blesses us even more, the virtuous cycle does continue
These may not be financial, but they will be more than a few
When we bless others, we are often in return blessed
For compared to receiving, giving to others is the best
But savings do not equal investments in a spiritual perspective
For saving lives and souls - not dollars - is how we should live
"He who dies with the most toys still dies" is an expression neat
For remember that when we die, it is God whom we will meet
He sent his Son to save us, a sacrificial gift that was so great
To be good stewards, a profit on this gift we must generate
With talents and gifts that are all different we are indeed blessed
Per 1 Timothy 4:14, not neglecting our gifts should be our quest
Since all our gifts come from God, they must be considered good
We should thank Him for the gifts and use them, that is understood
These gifts therefore belong to God and we should tithe them too
Tithing our talents ten percent of the time is the least we can do
God's gifts to us are in fact both a privilege and a responsibility
We should use them for His glory so that others can His love see
Our response-ability is how we respond to each of God-given gift
For in utilising these talents and abilities, others we should uplift
But our talents would be wasted without having an opportunity
Luckily, opportunities abound every day, as we can easily see
In his letter to the Ephesians 5 verse 15-16, so wrote Paul
We are to be very careful and make the most of opportunities all
It is a waste to have faith without any deeds, James did say
We have a platform in the marketplace to use every day
As Christians we are held to higher standards here on earth
But that merely gives us more chances to show God's worth
Doing the right thing, based on my memory and records
Leads to its own set of earthly and heavenly rewards
God's GPS, or God's Positioning System keeps on recalibrating
No matter what we do, more opportunities He is always creating
There are God-incidences that happen all of our days
For "every blessing you pour out, I turn back to praise"
"Yesterday is the past, tomorrow is the future"
"Today is a gift and the present", that's for sure
Taking advantage of opportunities, I did then quip
Is how we can create a legacy of stewardship
If I did not talk about stewardship of self I would be remiss
In Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 6, Paul talked about this
Our bodies are a living sacrifice and are used to honor God
So in taking care of our bodies, we should not be slipshod
Remember that Jesus' spirit in us does continually reside
And to utilise our talents, to healthy habits we must abide
In conclusion, remember that God looks at our deeds and our heart
For "stewardship is heart work" is the core message I tried to impart
God gives us plenty and challenges us to be stewards good
Our legacy is what we do with our talents, that is understood
What matters is not what is said on Sunday, but done in the week
That is where our stewardship legacy is defined, so to speak
Of our finances, talents, opportunities, and self we are responsible
When we are good stewards of these, the results will be incredible
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