Is poor stewardship a sin?

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Grace_and_Glory

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I have put off posting this for a while. First of all, I know it’s a problem far less than what many people here are dealing with. Also, I was hoping the issue would go away in time, but I am beginning to think it will not go away unless I do something about it.

Nearly six months ago, my dog, Penny, died. I had just gotten back from a mission trip, and she had missed me the whole time. The day after I got home, she got sick. I didn’t do anything about it, and that night we rushed her to the emergency vet, where she died. I can’t help but feel that it’s my fault she died because she might have survived if we had gotten her to the vet earlier. Instead of being attentive to her symptoms, I was checking in at work and getting pictures developed. Normally, I was very attentive to her. Once, I noticed a small bump on her skin and took her to the vet, where it was determined that it needed to be removed. If I had shown that same care for her the day she died, she might still be here.

Here’s where my question comes in. If God gives us time, money, or something else (such as Penny), is it a sin for us to act in such a way that we waste or destroy what has been given to us?

I know Penny was not a human, and if I did sin, I know it wasn’t at the level it would have been had she been a child, so I would appreciate it if discussions about how humans are above the animals would be kept off this thread. I feel like Penny was one of the best things God ever gave me, and because of my neglect I no longer have her, and I just wanted to know if I should be feeling guilty about my lack of care of her that day.
 
I had to put my dog to sleep a little over a year ago 2-3 days before Christmas. I had grown very close to him over the course of 12 years and it was a seriously painful experience.

In examining why it hit me so hard I realized that animals have a certain innocence about them that is almost child like. My Dog was not human of course and I know the difference but attachment and love is attachment and love. I can’t imagine how I would have felt if I somehow blamed myself for his death.

I recall a verse although I can’t quote it which says a sparrow will not fall to the ground without God knowing it. Perhaps the best thing to do in such a case is just give it all over to God. I don’t get the feeling that you are a neglectful pet owner here.

-D
 
It often happens that we have various responsibilites and in juggling them we look back and see that we “should” have done things in a different order with different priorities. This is not a sin, it is just being human, and we will look back and see, you know, hindsight.

I am so sorry about your dog Penny. We need to exercise reasonable care for the animals in our house, and it sounds like you were doing that. Sometimes it just isn’t clear how serious it is until later.

Yes real neglect of animals and bad stewardship of money is a sin, but it doesn’t sound like this in your case.
 
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