Stewardship

Karen and I have owned a pick-up truck only once. It was a nice efficient Ranger. It gave us what we needed with plenty of storage. Our salesman was Jim H, a member of my church. Jim was a good salesman… most of the time.

Jim told a story once of a young newlywed who came in looking for a car. The man was on top of the world: recently married, and now his new bride has announced they were pregnant! The man was ecstatic! He wanted to celebrate by buying a small two-door convertible. Everything he had ever wanted was now a dream come true.

Jim asked the man a number of times and a number of ways if he were sure about buying a two-door convertible at a time like this. The man couldn’t be talked out of it. As Jim completed the sale, he said to the young man, “I’ll see you again next week.”

Sure enough, at the end of the next week, the young man returned to the car dealership with his wife. And his wife was carrying a child safety seat. Somehow the child seat didn’t quite fit in the convertible. A few hours later, the convertible was a trade-in for a nice, sensible family car. Everybody was happy. 

This stewardship message is about being the right size. A convertible is not the right size for a growing family just as a minivan is not likely the right size for a single person.

The same is true for buildings. I’ve seen couples live in cramped small apartments as they build. Then they need more space as they have children. At the other end of the spectrum, I’ve helped couples down-size in retirement after the kids have left the home. There’s no need to maintain a large yard or extra bedrooms.

I’m excited that Compass will soon be moving to the right-size-building. This new location is only four blocks from where we live, so we’ve seen it often. Sure, I’ll miss the current Compass building: it’s handicapped accessible and has a great kitchen. But the bottom line for me is that it’s the wrong size for us right now. I won’t even say the other building is smaller; I want to emphasize it’s the right size.

And the mortgage is also the right size! 

Being the right size is biblical, too. As the Israelites entered the Promised Land after 40 years of wandering, we read in Numbers 33 that more populous tribes were given more land. I love Psalm 16 that says, “The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance” (verse 6). It literally talks about property lines. God is generous and knows our needs. It’s one more inheritance we have from a God who loves us.

I’m eager to hear how God wants us to act on these new opportunities. We’re in the right size; we’re in the right place; we’re in the right time. O God, thank you for our beautiful inheritance. What do you have in store for us next?!