Stewardship and Children

As most Christians already know, God created everything and therefore owns everything in the universe (Gen 1:1). As fewer Christians know, we have been put in charge of this creation and everything in it (Gen 1:28).  With this Dominion Mandate, as it is known, comes responsibility to care for the creation properly. This is the Biblical concept of stewardship.

The Apostle Paul walked with God and clearly understood stewardship well:

- "For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building (1 Cor 3:9)."
- "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (1 Cor 6:19-20)"

We are also charged with the proper education of children: "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. (Prov 22:6)"

I am increasingly concerned about what I see as a lack of stewardship in the Christian community, especially as it applies to 1 Cor 6:19-20 and Prov 22:6. Our bodies are temples for the Spirit, and as such should treat them well. We must also train children in the way they should go. However, I continue to see people mistreat and abuse their bodies, and I continue to see people training children to do the same.

I am especially concerned with how we are training up the next generation of Christians. Here's just a few examples of what I have seen: 

• Youth leaders encouraging all-night praise events...
• Popular Christian artists blasting people's ears at concerts...
• Christian school teachers and administrators encouraging kids to pull all-nighters to succeed, sometimes even encouraging the use of coffee and energy drinks to make it happen...
• Youth being told, either in words or in actions, that LOUD PAINFUL music is a required part of genuine, authentic worship...
• Youth on Christian school events being required to stay up late for a "message," often one of dubious worth...
• Youth being told by Christian school personnel that sleep is a "crutch." This one isn't even funny as a joke...
• Youth being shown poor examples of adult behavior, such as speeding, excessive drinking, excessive use of caffeine, skipping sleep then driving, etc. 

Now, I'm not pointing fingers here, and I'm not naming any names nor am I asking you to draw any conclusions beyond face value. I will freely admit that I've been guilty of demonstrating poor stewardship myself. I was once notorious for my coffee consumption, I have given athletes a starkly poor example of physical fitness and I have been known to get far less sleep than I should.

However, I am admitting my poor example and taking steps to fix it. There are far too many Christians out there who demonstrate poor stewardship to the youth in their lives and do not recognize it. Even worse, there are those who see their poor stewardship as their own "personal freedoms" and defend their destructive behaviors. Even worse still are those who see poor stewardship practices as part of worship or as part of being a Christian.

Doesn't the enemy take a lie and inject JUST enough truth to make those lies sound true? Does a partial truth make something good? Think on this: how much rat feces would you accept in your brownie batter and still be willing to eat those brownies?

Think about it. Pray about it. If you're part of the problem, fix it.