Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!" 9He said, "Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand.'…NASB

John Maynard Keynes was an economist whose thinking has influenced the lives of many an economist, financier and politician over many years. Peter Michael Jeynes is no economist and is unlikely to ever have world significance. He has, however, got a chance today to influence a few people’s thoughts for a few minutes.

A few years back I lived in Stockton-on-Tees. I had nearly paid off the mortgage on my house. Life was looking good. My employers, the North England Conference, asked me to locate to a new church district. Such things had happened before. I was used to such a request. I never say, “no” when asked to move because I reason that when good men (and women) who are true to God gather together, pray and make decisions the Holy Spirit guides their requests.

I couldn’t sell my house! Only a year before I had been offered over the market value for my home. Now I was having to accept peanuts; mouldy peanuts. When I finally sold the house I had to accept that I had lost £60,000.

Here is where the economist and realist steps into the spotlight. I had not lost £60,000. Look at all the value I had lost! I may have lost a 5 figure sum of some-thing, but it is untrue to say that I had lost ‘value’. I still had the ability to put a roof over my head. My new wife would not have to sleep under the stars. I still had the means to pay a mortgage. All I actually did was lose a number of noughts. We can all lose noughts. It is fine to lose noughts. All it takes is a little economic common sense.

My thinking goes like this. A collapse of world economies is a relative thing when I choose to consider that God still looks after me. A vote to leave the EU is of less significance than God’s love and continued care for me.

All I had to do, after a momentary panic, was to re-align my thinking. I did not have to believe that I was now £60,000 poorer. The noughts didn’t matter. What did matter was that I had done God’s will. I had moved as He requested to a new district to do God’s will. I knew God would take care of me.

Not only did I return to straight thinking, I could also thank God. That is to say, for the purposes of today I was able to thank God – after a time. You see what finally happened was that we eventually moved into the best house I have ever lived in. Four bedrooms, an office, a good garage and living in a village in the country is a blessing. Our village was possibly one of the most crime free areas in the world. We didn’t have one police force, we had two police forces. We were surrounded by servicemen and women from two armed forces. We could genuinely leave our doors unlocked at night. We could look out at the stars at night and see stars, not light pollution.

The second lesson, after making sure that we set out to think normally, is to realise that the long term view is what matters. As a SmartSteward the simple monetary decisions we make today need to be measured by the long term benefits. Those benefits are not to be measured by money in the bank.

All we have in the bank is a string of noughts. What we create as SmartStewards over time is … value. Part of that value is expressed in right thinking and an opportunity to give thanks to God for the way He cares for us day by day and time after time.

Please keep making your decisions as SmartStewards to be SmartStewards. Note the value - not the number of noughts.

If you want to find out more about SmartStewards click the link below

Music today is based on a lovely old gospel song - “Where He Leads Me I Will Follow (I Can Hear My Saviour Calling”. Click on the picture to listen.