The Concept of Ownership, Stewardship and Resource Dedication

UV 1361-10,000 The Concept of Ownership, Stewardship and Resource Dedication
And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them
Matthew 21 v 3
The concept of ownership and entitlement is so deeply ingrained in our nature that we dig in our heels with donkey-like stubbornness when we are asked to give something that belongs to us to be put to use by others. Many of us instead of lending our donkey to the Lord, act like stubborn donkeys in gripping what the Lord needs between our grated teeth and refuse to let go. The Lord Jesus in his foreknowledge knew that an ass and a foal were tied to a tree in the village near Bethany and Bethphage. He knew He needed an ass and a foal that morning to fulfil the prophecy that He, the Messiah, would come humbly riding on an ass but He did not believe in asking his disciples to save up enough to buy it in advance. He had plumbed the heart of the owner of the donkey and foal and knew what lay in his heart. He knew that he would release it without demur or resistance as long as he heard the word that it was meant for the Lord. As the Lord of the universe, the creator of all creatures here on earth, it was His prerogative to ask what He needs and when He needs it. It is our pleasant responsibility to straightaway give it to Him to put our time, our money, our talents, our gifts, our intelligence, our ideas, our resources, our position, our powers, our network, our lives to use. The donkey saw the man who fed and tended it to be its owner and master. How much more we need to see the Lord as our owner and Master. We need to dedicate all of our lives, our relationships and resources to the Lord. We would anyway have had none of these things except the Lord gave it to us to possess and enjoy. We can possess without possessiveness. We should not ask any questions or show reluctance but instead deem it our privilege and honour to give of it to the Lord. It is a sign of His lordship over us.
The Lord is the Master of our lives. He is the real owner of all that we are blessed with. Every good and perfect gift comes from Him. Till such time He needs it or asks for it, we need to maintain, care and develop it. The donkey and the foal were tied to a tree so that they do not wander away. We need to be good stewards of what the Lord has given into our care. The Lord did not ask every thing that the man and his family owned. He graciously asked only the donkey and the foal. The garments and clothes to lay upon the donkey and foal were provided by the disciples and the people. The Lord knows the specific gifts that we have or that we own which He can put to use. The donkey and the foal are a metaphor for what we can give from our lives that will carry the Lord and His work a little further to where He wants to be. The Lord Jehovah asked Abraham for the life of his precious only son Isaac as a test of his faith and obedience. He may ask of us our lives, the lives of our near and dear, our possessions, our talents, our time, our attention, our children. We need to trust Him as the owner of the donkey did. These are safer and better used in His hands than ours. The donkey and foal were sent along with the very ropes that tied them. We too should be willing, able and wise to give it up lock, stock and barrel.


It might not be the Lord directly asking for our resource. It could be His representative, a disciple or a man of God. What we are willing to give up will determine what we get. When the Lord gives us a vision, He will also make the provision to fulfil it. The vision is the plan or outline. His grace will fill in all the details. Like the unnamed owner of the donkey and foal, the Lord has prepared people right through space and time to pitch in with whatever is needed at just the right time. We might never know the names but surely the Lord knows them and blesses them for He is no man’s debtor. Every day we must ask the Lord what He needs of us that day and hasten to provide it. There is no mention of the donkey and foal being returned to its earthly owner as once a creature is used of the Lord, there is no greater fulfilment of purpose, no greater blessing. There is no loss in any investment made in the kingdom of God. Lending to the Lord is the highest and noblest use of our resources and lives. The call of this uni-verse is not to give up the ownership of the donkey of our lives but to give up the “donkey of ownership” to the Lord, implying that we tend to give up only what we do not need in terms of money and other resources to the Lord. We assess and give up the asses to the Lord and try to keep the assets for ourselves.

Prateep V Philip