December 11, 2010
How trustworthy are you with things others let you borrow? Ever loan out anything only to never get it back? How about loaning something out to someone, and actually getting it back, but it’s in terrible condition? Have you ever not returned something someone else let you borrow? Did you at least bring it back, but not in the greatest condition? How we handle other people’s things shows our level of respect toward that person and their things…did you know that?
Stewardship is a very important foundational principle that we need to get nailed down as Christians. It’s one of the marks of a good disciple. All that we have is on loan to us from God. James 1:17 says,
“Every good gift and every
perfect gift is from above, and
cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness,
neither shadow of turning.”
That means EVERY GOOD GIFT.
Every morning when we wake up and have
breath, that is a gift from God. The job we have and the money with which
we support our church and family is a gift from God. Our children, which
are on loan to us from God, are a gift.
Our time…our lives…our money…our families…are all from God and require our utmost diligence in using those gifts for His purpose and for His plan. Understand that everything around us is to be used properly and in accordance with God’s plan. Remember, God created everything (John 1:1-3) and we manage what he gives us, so, again, what we do with it should be in accordance with God’s will.
Stewardship is defined as the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care. We are all called to be stewards as early as Genesis 1:26, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” God’s expectation with giving us dominion over His creation was that we would tend to it and use it for sustenance as we needed to in accordance to what it was created for (animal meats for food, skins for clothing after the fall, etc). Adam was to care for the garden and toil to keep it looking nice. So everything God ever made was always intended to be cared for by us…as stewards.
There are two components to stewardship. First, there has to be a master. Second, there has to be a steward. God is the Master and we are the stewards. God doles out the resources only to ask for an accounting one day. We, as stewards, are entrusted with God’s resources (material goods, money, children, and yes, even time). By the way, God is our Master for two reasons. First, He redeemed us: “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are BOUGHT WITH A PRICE: therefore glorify God in your body, and in the spirit, WHICH ARE GOD’S” (First Corinthians 6:19-20). Second, He is our Master through creation: “But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him: and one Lord Jesus Christ, BY WHOM ARE ALL THINGS, AND WE BY HIM” (First Corinthians 8:6).
Stewardship touches all aspects of our lives and therefore we should endeavor to have our hearts be wholly God’s, that we may be good stewards out of a devotion to Him rather than out of a sense of duty. To be devoted to God will enable us to be good stewards even in tough times. If we do it out of a sense of duty, we’re likely to give up because our heart just isn’t into it the way it should be. Whether it’s money, time, resources, or our own children, if we don’t have a devotion to God, we’re likely to fall short of God’s expectations.
Imagine you promised money weekly to Missions, but you lose your job, or are out for an extended time due to illness. You’re more likely to shirk your duty to give when faced with difficult circumstances. However, out of a heart full of love for God, you’ll gladly give what you promised from the money God gives you…regardless of circumstances. Wouldn’t it be easier to quit on our kids and bring them up in a way that’s least taxing on us? But realizing that God gave us our children should make us be able to endure the difficult task of raising godly children to be used of by God in the future.
There are four principles of good stewardship:
1. Be content with what you have.
2. Be generous with what you have.
3. Constantly reevaluate what you’re doing.
4. Ask for help.
Being content is an important component to being a good steward. It’s not yours to begin with, so if you don’t have as much to work with than someone else, it doesn’t matter…it’s not yours. This is true especially when it comes to money. God says in the Bible that if you are faithful in that which is the least important (money) then you will be entrusted with things more important than money one day. Prove yourself able to command 25,000 dollars a year salary and maybe one day God will give you a 50,000 dollar a year job. It may not be that God doesn’t want to bless you with increased responsibilities with increased resources; you just may not yet be ready to handle those responsibilities yet. Be willing to start off small and wait for God to send more challenges and expectations your way. (See Philippians 4:11-13; 1-Timothy 6:7-9; Hebrews 13:5)
Once you have resources, use them wisely, and in accordance with God’s will. Prioritize. Then, when you know who should get what and when, give generously. Remember, it’s not yours. God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). Not only that, God promises a return on your investment to the degree you give to others. So, if you give of yourself only a little bit, you’ll find others only giving back to you a little bit. But, if you take the time God has entrusted you with and invest it in others rather than yourself, you’ll be blessed by God: “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, Pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. FOR WITH THE SAME MEASURE THAT YE METE WITHAL IT SHALL BE MEASURED TO YOU AGAIN” (Luke 6:38).
So you’ve decided to be happy with what you have to work with from God. You’ve also decided to be generous with what God has given you to use for His service. You need to re-evaluate…constantly. You need to deny yourself daily (Luke 9:23). Check to see if you’re beginning to lose focus. Are you getting a little more resources but not recognizing God’s added responsibilities? Do you have a new job with a new schedule and more time home in the evenings? Will you use that time for developing a more consistent and deeper devotion and study time, or will you find yourself at more social activities, missing the blessing of that career change? As God’s resources and expectations change from time to time, we need to make sure what we’re doing is the right thing.
If you find yourself floundering…ask for help. Seek God’s wisdom, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5). Seek the counsel of godly people who have proven track records for being good stewards of what God has given them. Iron sharpens iron…brethren help brethren and make them better (Proverbs 27:17). You don’t want to squander opportunities and resources you’ll never get back. Consider time…once you waste that time, what you could have done with it is lost forever. Don’t go it alone!
There are several more points to make regarding good stewardship. First, as a steward, we should be reverent. We are doing a holy work for a Holy God. The steward in Luke 12 wanted to please his master. We should desire to please our Master with the resources He gives us (i.e. money, times, talents, etc.).
A steward should be faithful. First Corinthians 4:2 says, “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” You must be willing to be in it for the long haul. Be willing to persevere until the end: “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” (Galatians 6:9). Joseph was a humble steward for Potipher, and worked very hard. Ultimately that led Joseph to become a steward for Pharoah, and God rewarded Joseph by saving the lives of his family during a famine. Joseph, because he had a steward’s heart, was a blessing to many people, and the careful and unending care of God’s resources in our lives may lead us to be blessings to other people…some we may never know.
A steward needs to learn to be orderly. Look at the account in First Chronicles 28:1…And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by course, and the captains over the thousands, and captains over the hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possession of the king, and of his sons, with the officers, and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men, unto Jerusalem. Can you properly manage everything God gives you without having some semblance of a plan of attack? A plan is needed to utilize your entrusted resources to their fullest potential.
As a steward, you must be willing to risk things. Again, the risk isn’t really an issue, because it’s not our stuff…don’t forget that. If God lays on your heart to send a child to summer camp, but you have your heart set on playing golf, which would be a better act? Are you willing to “risk” not going golfing in order to send a child to summer Bible camp? I like Charles Stanley’s theory, “Obey God and leave the consequences to Him.” Admittedly, it’s easier said than done. This is an easy principle to understand but altogether different when trying to apply it.
All of this brings me to a final point about godly stewardship. Be concerned for, and focus on others. In Luke 12:42, the steward was given the entire master’s household, to give to them their portion of food and provisions when it was time for such things. In other words, the steward was ruler over the master’s entire household, including his possessions, and the steward was instructed to dole out those possessions to the members of the master’s household. It said nothing of how the steward was going to get along and survive himself. The steward was expected to deliver the master’s goods to the master’s people, when and how he was directed, without the steward first thinking of himself. But God promises to take care of us (Galatians 6:9) just as the master promised to bless the steward one day (Luke 12:42).
Our resources are not ours, and we should really put the priority on using those resources toward eternal investments through our work with others (summer camp scholarship OR golf). One commentator spoke of Second Corinthians 4:18, “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal: but the things which are not seen are eternal.” He said, “A wise steward will treat things according to their value, treasure the things God declares important, and hold with a loose grip the things that God says will not matter in the end.” Sending a child to Bible camp where they may make a commitment to either salvation or lifelong service to God is an important thing to God…it’s got eternal consequences. Keeping that child home so you can play golf is wasteful and temporal, and should be readily let go of. Material pleasures will one day all be burned up. The movies, golf courses, sporting arenas, they will all disappear…then those things really won’t matter to us…but it will be too late for others!
