Are you a beach person or a mountain person? I would have to say I love both but if it comes down to a vote, the beach wins hands down every time. There is just something peaceful to me about the sound of the ocean and the smell of the salty air. It has a very calming effect of me.
God has a sense of humor. Back in 2001, He called Mark and me to build a cabin in the mountains of Ellijay, Georgia on Carter’s Lake. We named it My Father’s Cabin and rented it out to pay for it, but made it readily available to our pastors for ministry purposes. I managed the property and enjoyed getting to know our renters through exchanging emails and talking on the phone. I always tried to share the vision and purpose we had for the cabin so they would care for it properly allowing others to come behind them and benefit from it also.
We had one gentleman who called and said he wanted to rent the cabin for a men’s group to get away. This happened often with church groups, so I didn’t question him. It turned out to be a fraternity from a university and they completely trashed our cabin and did things in it that would make a sailor blush. They took the pictures containing scripture in them down and hid them in a closet. They did permanent damage to some things. Our cleaning lady arrived Sunday afternoon to clean the cabin and called me in tears saying “They’ve defiled this place. How could they? You’ve just got to come up here.” Needless to say, I felt betrayed, let down, violated and taken advantage of, just to name a few.
This morning when the memory of this incident surfaced, I realized I was no different than David when Nathan came to him and told him of a man who stole another man’s wife [2 Samuel 12:1]. David was ready to take legal action against the man. He could clearly see the sin of another, but failed to see his own. I could see the sin of these men but failed to notice I was doing the same thing to God’s property.
You see, Psalm 24:1-2 tells us “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.” When He created it, He had a vision and a purpose for it. We have been entrusted with it to use but with the expectation we would take care of it. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not a tree hugger by any means, but there are things we can all do to take care of what God has entrusted to us so others can be blessed by it and use it also. This isn’t limited to tangible resources only. Look at the people He brings into your life. Are you caring for them as God has called you to do? We all have room for improvement. Why not choose one area to begin improving on today?