What Can Car Maintenance Teach You About Stewardship?

Taking care of your car is an expensive and ongoing process. However, it’s essential to stay on top of maintenance so that your car functions well and safely for a long time. A car is an expensive possession and it’s wise to invest in its ongoing care. Regular maintenance will extend the life of your vehicle and keep you informed on what your car is able to do. 

Christians can learn a lot about the concept of Biblical stewardship by practicing appropriate car maintenance. The Bible teaches that every resource you have is a gift from God. As a steward of God’s resources, you have a responsibility to honor Him by caring for these gifts and using them for His glory. Here are five things that car maintenance can teach you about good stewardship.   

1. Invest in Accountability

When your car needs work, you turn first to the owner’s manual. This guide explains how your vehicle is meant to work so that you can identify and fix things that go wrong. Both the manual and your mechanic hold you accountable for how your car should be treated. If you break the rules, you can damage your car and it may eventually stop working. 

It’s difficult to be a good steward of anything without accountability. For example, your colleagues and supervisors at work hold you accountable for project deadlines and time management. If you want to be a good steward of your life, you need people who will point you to Scripture and hold you accountable for your choices. 

2. Have a Long-Term Mindset

Responsible car owners think about the long-term. If you’re only planning to drive your car for a few months, maintenance doesn’t really matter. However, a car that’s not maintained won’t last long, especially if you use it a lot or it’s already racked up a lot of miles. Steady maintenance is key for owning a working car that lasts for a long time. 

Good stewards have a long-term mindset. Instead of fulfilling their desires immediately, they think about the consequences of their current actions and focus on future results. This lines up with the Biblical principle of sowing and reaping that Paul described in Galatians and 2 Corinthians. If you’re willing to put in the effort to maintain a car, your marriage or your health, you’ll reap good things in the future. 

3. Plan for Disaster

Car maintenance is also an insurance policy against disaster. A car is essentially a large machine with many moving parts. It takes fluid, gas and electricity to run. If you let your oil run dry or your battery corrode, your car could stop working. Maintaining your vehicle helps prevent accidents and ensures that every part of your car works as intended. 

Preparing for disaster is a critical aspect of Biblical stewardship. In Genesis 41, the Bible tells the story of Joseph’s stewardship over the land of Egypt. With God’s wisdom, Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dream and counsels him to store up food for seven years as insurance against a coming famine. Joseph’s plan works and his good stewardship saves millions of lives over the next 14 years. 

4. Remember the Goal

Car maintenance can feel thankless because you have to repeat the same tasks over again to keep your car running. If you have an older car, you may need to check fluids and parts more often than usual. However, even new cars need to be inspected once a year. Your car can also benefit from alignment checks, tire rotation, oil replacements and headlight checks. 

Often, responsibility feels boring. Life requires you to do routine tasks like cooking, balancing your checkbook and cleaning the bathroom day after day. Although these tasks may feel meaningless, they take on meaning in light of your larger goal to serve God and love others. Good stewards motivate themselves to action by remembering why repetitive tasks matter. 

5. Experience More Freedom

Owning a car is a huge responsibility. It’s a large financial investment and gives you influence over other people’s safety. In addition to constant maintenance, car owners are responsible for paying taxes and following the law by scheduling inspections. If you crash your vehicle or don’t take care of it, you have to handle the consequences. 

Although responsibility can be scary, it leads to freedom. In Luke 16:10, Jesus said, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much.” If you’re faithful to care for your car and drive safely, you’ll enjoy the freedom of driving anywhere you want, whenever you want. People who aren’t responsible drivers lose this freedom. 

Becoming a Good Steward

Being a good steward isn’t so much about who you are as it is what you do. Because your car is valuable, you take good care of it. Christians can draw many parallels between car maintenance and good stewardship in other areas of life like finances, relationships and talents. Your life is a gift from God. Good stewardship helps you enjoy each day and glorify God with what He’s given you.