The New Testament word for stewardship is oikonomia, from which we
derive the word economy. This word means "management of a household," and it
refers to the responsibility that is entrusted to a manager. A steward acts as an
administrator of the affairs and possessions of another. He is fully accountable to
his master and may act justly as did Joseph who became Potiphar's steward (Gen.
39:4-6), or unjustly as in Christ's parable of the steward who squandered his
master's possessions (Luke 16:1-13). As Christians, we have been entrusted with a
stewardship; the things we call our own are not really ours, but God's. We have no
possessions, and we do not even own ourselves: "Or do you not know that your
body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and
that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify
God in your body"
God is our Master, and we are responsible to manage His affairs and
possessions. Because we are His servants, all that we have is His. This explodes the
popular misconception that we give God His percentage and the rest is ours.
According to Scripture, we are accountable to God for everything. Whether we
have much or little, our key responsibility as His stewards remains the same:
faithfulness. "Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ, and
stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards
that one be found trustworthy" (1 Cor. 4:1-2).
In the parable of the talents (Matt. 25:14-30), the amounts differed, but
each slave was entrusted with something. The rewards were not based on how
much they were given, but on what they did with what they were given.
Significantly, the first two slaves were equally praised, though the first was given
five talents and the second was given two. We must resist the temptation to
compare ourselves with others, because comparison is the basis of all dissatisfaction.
All of us have been given something, and only one thing is important to God--
faithfulness to what He has given us and called us to do (Luke 12:42).
Stewardship is faithfully using whatever God gives us (opportunities, interests,
skills, employment, family, talents, spiritual gifts, land, money, etc.) for His glory.
If biblical stewardship involves every facet of life, it requires a basic
commitment on our part: we must present ourselves to God as His servants, with no
conditions attached. The real issue of stewardship is whether we are administrating
our affairs and possessions as though they are ours or as though they are God's.
The pattern of our lives is shaped by the decisions we make, and the greatest of
these decisions is this: Am I the lord of my life, or is God the Lord of my life? We
will either seek to rule our own lives (the tragedy of the first Adam), or submit to
the rule of God (the triumph of the second Adam). This is the difference between
the great I WILL (Isa. 14:13-14) and the great THY WILL (Matt. 6:10; Mark 14:36).
Whether we realize it or not, we face this decision many times in the course of each
day. Our answer to this question will determine how we manage the time, abilities,
and money God has placed under our care.
All of us have legitimate physical and psychological needs, and God wants
us to trust Him to meet these needs. Satan would deceive us into depending upon
our own abilities and resources to meet our needs, while God tells us to depend
upon Him. While selfless living is the essence of righteousness, selfishness is the
essence of sin. The difference between grabbers who live for themselves and givers
who live for God and others is the difference between saving our lives for our own
sakes and losing our lives for Christ's sake (see Mark 9:34-37). We cannot keep what
we do not give away.
When we trusted Christ, we exchanged the old for the new; we passed
from death into life, from darkness to light, from sight to faith, and from an earthly
to a heavenly citizenship (John 3:36; 2 Cor. 5:17; Phil. 3:21; Col. 1:13). True
stewardship reflects this exchange in a lifestyle ordered by the lordship of Christ
over all things. We are free to give without expecting anything in return because
our needs are fully met in Christ.
Stewardship of Time
Each of us have been given enough time to accomplish God's purpose for
us on this planet. The Scriptures exhort us to invest our time wisely, reminding us
that God determines the length of our stay on earth. "Therefore be careful how you
walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the
days are evil" (Eph. 5:15-16). Toward the end of his life, Moses prayed, "So teach us
to number our days, that we may present to Thee a heart of wisdom" (Ps. 90:12).
Time is our most valuable asset, but without a proper perspective, we will
spend it foolishly. A biblical perspective on time involves several things: (1) Life is
brief, and we cannot be presumptuous about the future (Jas. 4:14). (2) The eternal
gives meaning to the temporal (Rom. 13:11; 2 Cor. 4:18). (3) Like other assets, our
time is owned by God (Ps. 31:15). (4) We must be sensitive to opportunities so that
we can make the most of them (Eccles. 8:5; Col. 4:5). (5) Our use of time will reflect
our priorities (Matt. 6:19-21,34).
Just as it is wise to budget our financial resources, it is also
wise to budget our use of time. Most time is wasted not in hours, but in minutes. If
we do not regularly assess the way we spend our 168 hours per week, our schedules
will get cluttered with activities that may be good, but not the best. How much
quality time do we spend with the Lord, with our spouse, with our children, and
with our non-Christian friends? God wants us to be faithful stewards, not
squanderers, of the time He has given us.
I'm going to seperate this into a few different post as it is very long. So do look forward to it.
