from Gary Hamrick
... Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Chapel

... God is the Owner, and I am His steward—so my resources must never become my master

Luke 16:13 NKJV (devotion translation)

In Luke 16, Jesus tells a parable that forces us to think carefully about what we do with money and material things. The rich man in the story represents ownership, and the manager represents stewardship. That is the point: God owns everything, and we are entrusted to manage what belongs to Him. We may have worked hard for what we possess, but Scripture reminds us that even the strength, opportunity, and skill to produce wealth are gifts from the Lord. So stewardship is never merely a financial topic; it is a heart topic.

Jesus does not praise dishonesty, but He highlights something the manager did that was wise: he acted with urgency in light of accountability. He knew a day of reckoning was coming, so he made decisions with the future in view. In the same way, believers should live with eternal perspective. Money is temporary, but how we use it can have lasting impact. When we handle worldly resources with integrity, generosity, and self-control, our lives become a visible testimony of what we truly value. Faithfulness in small things reveals what is happening in the heart, and God often entrusts more responsibility to those who prove dependable with what seems least.

Jesus brings the lesson to a clear conclusion: no one can serve two masters. Mammon is more than cash; it is the pull of possessions, status, and security apart from God. The issue is not whether we have things, but whether things have us. Christ calls us to serve God with undivided loyalty and to treat money as a tool—useful, but never ruling.

Lord, help me to serve You with an undivided heart and to manage what You have entrusted to me with faithfulness and integrity. Amen.

• Psalm 24:1 - Everything belongs to the Lord, reinforcing God’s ownership over all we steward.
• 1 Corinthians 4:2 - Stewards are required to be found faithful with what is entrusted to them.
• Deuteronomy 8:18 - God is the source of the ability to produce wealth.
• Matthew 6:21 - Where our treasure is reveals the true allegiance of the heart.
• 1 Timothy 6:9-10 - The love of money leads to spiritual danger when it becomes a master.