Biblical Stewardship: The Land Comes From God
By: Brian Seay, CFA
This may be an obvious point given that we’ve already discussed the goodness of God’s created world. However, its important to understand that the source of sustenance and wealth in Ancient Israel was land that was given to Israel by God. They didn’t use their intelligence to outsmart the other nations on the earth. The Israelites weren’t big enough or strong enough to conquer the promised land with physical strength in great Battles. They didn’t “outwork” the Egyptians or the inhabitants of Jericho.
God sent the plagues to Egypt. God parted the Red Sea. God dried up the Jordan river. God told them to march around Jericho in circles and eventually gave the city to Israel. The Israelites did fight some real battles to take back Israel, but it was God leading them through each conflict. As Joshua was faithful and sought God’s wisdom, God provided strategies to win the battles.
After conquering Israel, each tribe and family received land. Given their journey through the wilderness and firsthand reliance on God to win those battles, the Israelites could see that their land was a gift from God. Without him, they wouldn’t have the land and animals that produced the sustenance and wealth they needed to thrive.
In the modern world, I think its easier for us to forget that our assets come from God. We work and “earn” a paycheck. It’s our money, the “fruit of our labor.”
Consider this:
What about that person you “happen to cross paths with” at work, that became part of your network, and that ultimately opened the door to your current job? Was that a random series of events or perhaps a blessing from God?
What about those bad decisions that you made that should have cost your company money, but end up being covered up by unexpected growth? Perhaps blessing from God?
What about when you made a great, completely rational decision to pick a highly compensated major in college because you liked the professor that taught the class on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10am?
What about when you saw an opportunity to improve a process at work or bought a business with a thesis to improve an entire business model that had been languishing for decades? Did others not see it? Were they blind and unable to act?
You see the idea. Yes, working hard is important, it’s even Biblical. It’s critical that we are good stewards of our personal gifts so that we can capitalize on the opportunities God gives us. But just like the land, God provides those opportunities and it’s our faithfulness and obedience, combined with hard work, that allows us to lean into what God is providing.