Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

Stewardship of Resources.
Exodus 18:13-27
Vs.16, “whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and laws.”
“Stewardship is the responsible use (including conservation) of natural resources in a way that takes full and balanced account of the interests of the society, future generations, and other species, as well as of private needs, and accepts significant answerability to society.” Stewardship applies to all facets of life. It requires proper planning and the management of the available resources. We could also see the application of certain basic economic principles in the above passage, “Scarcity and Division of Labor”. Human wants are unlimited but the means to satisfy those wants are limited. Scarcity makes people to allocate the available resources judiciously to satisfy their basic necessities and the remaining resources are used to satisfy as many other wants as possible. Division of labor is the process of dividing a task or job into smaller but interconnected parts. In Holy Trinity, we see one God in three persons, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit”.

God appeared to Moses in the midst of a burning bush and told Moses, “I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt, Exo.3:10.” So Moses returned to Egypt as God commanded and with God’s miraculous help, brought 2-3 million Israelites out of Egypt. Moses not only became their leader but also the judge. His verdicts were based on the word of God as revealed to him. They brought their disputes daily before Moses and they also wanted Moses to inquire of God on their behalf.  Jethro, the father in-law of Moses, who was a priest of Midian, visited with Moses. (In Numbers 10: 29, the name of Moses father-in-law is shown as Hobab). Moses came out to meet with Jethro and showed respect by bowing down and kissed him. On the very next morning, Moses went back to his work as usual, listening to the disputes and rendering verdicts. When Jethro saw that the people stood around Moses from morning till evening to settle their grievances, he told Moses that his work load was too heavy for one person to handle and he could easily be burned out eventually by trying to do it all alone. It is said that, “justice delayed is justice denied.” Jethro told Moses, “listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you, Exo. 18:19.” Probably, Jethro, a gentile, thus became the 1st counselor in the Bible. Jethro also gave Moses specific instruction as to what to do and how to do it. “Select capable men from all the people-men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain-and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain and all the people will go home satisfied, Exo. 18:21-23.” By Moses complying with Jethro’s instructions, a standard was set even then, which has proven to be an effective model for governing people whether it be in religion or in business. In 1 Timothy 3, Paul suggested that the person to be selected as an elder or deacon of the Church should have more or less the same qualities as above.

In most democracies, the Governmental functions are separated in to three distinct branches; Legislature, Executive and Judiciary, but they are equal branches of the Government. We could see the application of the division of labor principle in Exo. 17:10-13 also. Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses commanded. Israelites were winning as long as the hands of Moses were held high. When Moses hands grew tired, Aaron and Hur put a stone for Moses to sit and they held his hands up. Thus Israelites won. “Union is strength” and unity in diversity produces better outcomes as “two heads are better than one.” Jesus also sent people in twos; “Calling the twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits, Mark 6:7.” Jesus did the same thing in Luke 10.1, as he selected 72 people and sent them out two by two. Apostle Paul also did the same thing, as he in most instances, took someone else with him and instructed others also to do the same. Partnership in the gospel is more important than merely adding more members. Doing it alone is the autocratic way. There is no better way to spread the gospel than getting others involved.
PRAYER
Lord, rather than waiting for more resources, help us to make use of the available resources for the glorification of Your kingdom and to bring many to Your vineyard. Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
 If there is something that is essential to the existence of the Church, God will see to it that it will be done. Believe.

Alex Thomas, Jackson, TN.
 Christian Education Forum, Diocese of NAE of the Mar Thoma Church

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