“Using God given talents to manage God given resources for God given purposes”
That is the definition of stewardship used at the California Baptist Foundation – a Christian trust and estate management organization (*disclosure – CBF is the parent organization of our sponsor)
Foundation President, Dr. Phil Kell was speaking recently to a leadership summit at Immanual Baptist Church in Highland, CA – below is an excerpt of his address where he connected stewardship, discipleship and leadership together.
Daniel Unger was a young man from Exeter, California. On May 25, 2004 he was on escort duty for a group of Iraqi civilian contractors doing work at a base that came under mortar attack. All the soldiers ran for cover but the civilians were bewildered and unsure what to do. SPC Unger was able to guide them to the safety of a bunker but as a result he remained out in the open and was killed by the third mortar blast that hit the camp.
You can find out more about the life and death of Daniel Paul Unger at this website (www.danielunger.com), but today, let us consider one question.
Was this a life wasted?
This weekend many people in the United States will be involved in Memorial Day commemorations. They will honor the sacrifice of not only Daniel Unger, but the many thousands of service men and women who have died to protect the freedoms this country enjoys.
But let us consider the question….was their sacrifice in vain?
What use is our freedom when we turn around and enslave ourselves to other things?
Are we really free when we are somehow convinced that we NEED that mega venti mocca double chocolate “caffeine”iuccino (with extra cream)?
What use is our freedom when we allow our minds to become saturated with inane distractions?
Are we really free when, as of this month (May 2010) the national debt is over $13 trillion? That is over $42,000 per person! On top of that we can add the many families overloaded with credit card and other forms of debt.
Are we really free when we have a society with stress levels so high that it destroys our health, our relationships, and robs us of life’s joy?
Let this Memorial weekend not only be a time to remember and honor the men and women who have served their country. Let it also be a call to action. Let all like minded people stand together and be better stewards of the personal freedoms we enjoy and that came at such a high cost.
