Fountain Stewardship vs. Cistern Stewardship

Jeremiah 2:12-13 Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the LORD,  for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

There are to ways two think of all of the earthly blessings we receive.  One can think of them as coming from a fountain.  A fountain is a constantly replenished source of water.  One simply goes to the fountain and find water unending.  Or you can view earthly blessings as things that need to be stored up in cisterns.  Cisterns are water insurance.  They are used because of the fear that their might not be fresh water when there is need.

Most people today put their blessings in cisterns.  Savings has become a unquestioned virtue in our thinking.  It is wise to save up blessings for a day when there is need, but no fresh blessings may be available.  But isn’t this exactly what God rebukes Judah for in this passage.  They put away their blessing for a later time, not trusting him to be a fountain flowing in all times. And they found just like many who store up their blessing today that even when storing in the most secure places, leaks still happen.

To make it more modern, you don’t have a cistern when you have good running water in your house.  You just trust that when you have need of water, it will be provided.  That is how God would have us think of him.  He will provide for our future needs.  And so if we can do good with what we have, we ought to do it and trust the faucet, trust the fountain.

I am not suggesting that all saving is wrong.  But I suggesting that some saving is wrong.  The kind that is done in fear of a time when God will not provide is wrong.  It is cistern stewardship.  We are called to fountain stewardship.