When was the last time you heard someone use the word stewardship? It’s not a word we commonly use in conversation anymore. So, I’m guessing your answer is “never,” unless perhaps you’ve heard it used in a church setting. And even then, you’d probably scratch your head if I asked you to define the word.
Stewardship Defined
As we explore and seek to live out the spiritual disciplines, we will define stewardship as taking responsibility for the things the Lord has entrusted to us. This includes such things as our time, talents, and treasure. To be a good steward is to be faithful with these things.
A steward is a person who manages property that belongs to someone else. Another word for steward is caretaker. When a person is put in charge of things that belong to someone else, they handle the things with care. And if the “belongings owner” holds a position of authority over the steward, or caretaker, even greater care is generally demonstrated.
IN SCRIPTURE
From beginning to end, Scripture declares that God is the owner of all. Everything we have been given has been given to us by God.
Old Testament
The earth and everything in it belong to God.
- Exodus 19:5 – “…all the earth is mine.”
- Leviticus 25:23 – “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me.”
- Deuteronomy 10:14 – “Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it.”
- 1 Chronicles 29:11-2 – “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.”
- Job 41:11 – “Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.”
- Psalm 24:1 – “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.”
- Psalm 50:10-12 – “For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. ‘If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.’”
- Haggai 2:8 – “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts.”
New Testament
We belong to God.
- 1 Corinthians 6:19 – “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own.”
- 1 Corinthians 7:23a – “You were bought with a price….”
- 1 Timothy 6:7 – “For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.”
There is much talk in our culture about things belonging to us and of our belonging to ourselves. But look at these Scriptures from both the Old and the New Testaments. Does that thinking line up with what the Bible says?
This, of course, is just a sampling of Scripture passages. Search the entire Bible, and you will not find a single verse that suggests that God has surrendered His ownership of anything to us. Nor do we read anywhere in the pages of the Bible that He has left the earth, or anything in it – including ourselves – to anyone.
MODELED AND TAUGHT BY JESUS
Jesus taught about stewardship. A couple of the most well-known teachings are found in Matthew 25 and Luke 19.
Jesus shares the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. In this parable, a master rewards those who steward His resources well and punishes those who do not. The parable emphasizes the importance of being accountable for the resources God entrusts to us and diligently multiplying our gifts.
The Parable of the Unjust Steward is found in Luke 16:1–13. In this parable, a steward who is about to be fired tries to gain favor with his master’s debtors by remitting some of their debts.
These are just two of Jesus’ teachings on stewardship. But He not only taught on good stewardship, He modeled it clearly and powerfully for us during His earthly ministry.
The pinnacle of His stewardship is found in His sacrificial death on the cross.
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Mark 10:45
The Importance of Stewardship
The Bible is full of passages instructing us to use our resources to care for the poor and those who are in need (1 John 3:17–18, Proverbs 28:27, 1 Timothy 5:8).
First Peter 4:10 says, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” This verse encourages believers in Christ to use the diverse gifts given to them in service to one another, reflecting the grace of God.
In other words, God owns everything we “own,” and He calls us to use the gifts He has given to us wisely and faithfully, for His glory.
As a spiritual discipline, stewardship is managing God’s treasures (His wealth), in His way, for His purposes, and always for His glory. It’s about using what God has given us to accomplish something that matters – His kingdom work.
Essentially, we begin life with our hands wide open and with nothing in them. By the grace of God, as we mature, He allows certain things to be placed into our possession. Things that are not under our ownership. Things that we are to care for. Things that belong to Him.
