Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of Monday Meditations.

To start the week off right, the phrase that we're going to be meditating on is stewardship

of earthly possessions.

In reality, we own nothing beyond the brief time that we're here on earth.

Everything we have is a gift, a temporary loan from God, who alone is the true

owner of all things. And we're just here on earth managing those gifts and those blessings. And once

we leave this world, everything is considered stuff. Like our family members might

evenly distribute it, or they might fight over it, which is usually the common

thing. But at the end of the day, it's left behind. What's the saying again? There's no U-Haul

hitch to the hearse. But when we lose sight of this truth, greed and covetedness take root in our

hearts, distorting our priorities and pulling us away from God's purpose.

I can't help but think. I have a toddler, and she's actually really good with sharing,

but I'll never forget. She was with another little toddler, and everything that they said

when she went to share, this is mine, this is mine, this is mine, and she was so taken back

by it. But that just makes me think even more of how this is just rooted in our hearts from

when we're little, is that when we cling tightly to material things and declare, this is mine,

we deceive ourselves. No possession, no amount of wealth will follow us beyond this life.

And this does not mean that earthly riches are inherently sinful. It's not what I'm saying.

What I'm saying is that scripture does not condemn wealth itself.

Rather, God calls us to be faithful stewards of our resources, using our talents,

abilities, and opportunities wisely. Yet, there is a right way and a wrong

way to acquire money, and just as there is a right way and a wrong way to seek power, the key is to

...