“Each of you as a good manager must use the gift that God has given you.” 1 Peter 4:10 (GW)

I don’t really own anything. And neither do you. It all belongs to God.

It was God’s from the beginning. It will be God’s at the end. You didn’t bring anything into this world—and you’re not going to take anything out of this world. God just loans it to you for the time that you’re here.

So that means you’re a manager of the things God has given you. God gave you your health—so you need to manage your health wisely. He gave you your time—so you need to manage your time wisely. He gave you your talents—so you need to manage your talents wisely. And he gave you your money—so you need to manage your money wisely.

As 1 Peter 4:10 says, “Each of you as a good manager must use the gift that God has given you” (GW).

That may not seem like a big deal at first, but when you realize your money isn’t really yours, it changes the way you think about it and use it.

And because you’re a manager of God’s money, one day you’ll give an account to him of how you used it. Ecclesiastes teaches, “Young people, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do” (Ecclesiastes 11:9 NLT).

And Romans 14:12 says it like this: “Yes, each of us will have to give a personal account to God” (NLT).

When your time on earth is over, you’ll stand before God and give him an account of how you used all he gave you—your time, your talents, your money, and more. He’ll ask you something like, “What did you do with what I gave you?”

How will you answer?