Stewardship

We just started a series in church about being good stewards of what God has given us, & seeing "treasure" the way God sees it. Whenever I hear people talking about being a good steward, I tend to think it refers to using stuff well, & I think, "Yeah, I want to make the best use of everything God has given me." But I looked up the word "stewardship", & it means more than that:

stew·ard
–noun 1. a person who manages another's property or financial affairs; one who administers anything as the agent of another or others.
2. a person who has charge of the household of another, buying or obtaining food, directing the servants, etc.
3. an employee who has charge of the table, wine, servants, etc., in a club, restaurant, or the like.
4. a person who attends to the domestic concerns of persons on board a vessel, as in overseeing maids and waiters.
5. an employee on a ship, train, or bus who waits on and is responsible for the comfort of passengers, takes orders for or distributes food, etc.
6. a flight attendant.
7. a person appointed by an organization or group to supervise the affairs of that group at certain functions.
8. U.S. Navy. a petty officer in charge of officer's quarters and mess.
–verb (used with object) 9. to act as steward of; manage.
–verb (used without object) 10. to act or serve as steward.

When you look at it that way, it means everything you have does not belong to you; it belongs to God. If you have a proper relationship with God, that is a freeing feeling!

Needs met

This morning I read Psalm 37:1-6 for my devotions. This is a relatively familiar passage, but the Holy Spirit showed me a new application today: The fact that the Lord gives us the desires of our heart-- that through Him we desire what He wants us to desire-- is a way He meets our needs.
I realized that in my nature I am a literal, factual, & materialistic guy. I never thought I was a materialistic guy because I always saw having a lot of things in a negative light, but even seeing materialism negatively is still being materialistic; in the same way that feeling sorry for yourself is still pride (self-centeredness). God wants me to focus on the spiritual/ eternal, not the material/ earthly.
With this natural mindset, I guess I always limited "needs" to referring to stuff we have to have to live. Today I realized that just as much I need to have peace & a good attitude; thoughts & feelings are just as important as food & air! I appreciate that my wife has always understood this, but this is a new concept for me.