Stewardship Is Who We Are, Not What We Do

In times past, if I were reading a book and the author quoted a long Scripture passage, I frequently skipped over it. It seemed only reasonable because I had read it before and if you tell me what the story is about, I already know it. Then one Sunday, God taught me differently. As he began his sermon, the pastor indicated that he was using a long passage for his text. Since time was short and he had a lot to say, he announced that he was not going to read the entire text.

It struck me that the pastor thought his words were more important for me to hear than God’s Word. It seemed arrogant to think he had more to say on the subject than God. Then I realized that I was doing the same thing when I skipped Bible passages in my reading. I have since changed my ways.

Then reason I relate this experience is because my article this week has a long quote from the Bible. I want you to read the entire text because it is the real point.

Good stewardship begins with who we are, but most of our stewardship teaching has focused on what we do. I plead guilty. I spend a great deal of time showing people how to. . . budget their money, get out of debt, clean up their credit, give to their church. . . the list is endless. In doing so, I have discovered that "how to’s" do not change lives. Stewardship is more concerned with who we are than what we do.

Stewardship is the result of a relationship. A good steward is the person who lives in the proper relationship with the owner. The foundational truth of stewardship is that God owns everything. The Psalmist declared, "The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains" (Psalm 24:1). There is no doubt, in spite of our frequent actions, that we do not own anything. It all belongs to God.

The word "stewardship" means responsible management of someone’s property. When we are stewards, we are not owners; we are managers. One of the clearest pictures of stewardship is found in the parable of the talents told by Jesus in Matthew 25.

For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves, and entrusted his possessions to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. But he who received the one talent went away and dug in the ground, and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. And the one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, "Master, you entrusted five talents to me; see, I have gained five more talents." His master said to him, "Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master." The one also who had received the two talents came up and said, "Master, you entrusted to me two talents; see, I have gained two more talents." His master said to him, "Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master." And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, "Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground; see, you have what is yours." But his master answered and said to him, "You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I scattered no seed. 'Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 'Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents." For to everyone who has shall more be given, and he shall have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. And cast out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

It is unfortunate that English translations of this story use the word "talents" to describe the possessions entrusted to the servants. The origin or our English word "talent" was derived from the Greek word used by Matthew. The word sounds like our word "talent," but it refers to a denomination of money, not an innate ability. The story is not about three servants who were given the ability to sing or paint, it is about three servants who were entrusted with the master’s money and possessions.

They were stewards because they had the task of managing the master’s stuff. They were stewards because of their relationship with the owner. Two proved to be good stewards, and one proved to be a worthless steward; but they were all stewards.

The difference between the two good stewards and the one worthless steward was their relationship with the master. Everything said about the master implies that he was a generous, trusting man. The word used to describe what he did with his possessions is "entrusted." He handed over all of his possessions to these three men. This appears to be a great act of kindness and an expression of trust. If he did not have confidence in these men, he had other options. We know that he could have put his money in the bank (see Matthew 25:27).

The two servants who were good stewards responded to his trust by seizing the opportunity. They made wise use of the master’s money. They honored the master’s trust and wishes.

The third steward, the bad steward, seemed to have a different relationship with the master. When confronted with his failure, the first words from his mouth were, "Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. . ." Others knew the master as kind and generous, this man thought the master was hard, unfair, and frightening.

The failure of his relationship resulted in the failure of his stewardship. He was a worthless steward because he did not have a healthy relationship with the master. This is a common biblical theme. Abraham had a faith relationship with God so he could divide his possessions and give the best options to his nephew Lot (see Genesis 13). David was a man who was frequently called, "my servant" by God Himself, which allowed him to give an offering worth billions of dollars (see 2 Chronicles 29:3-4). Zaccheus discovered acceptance from Jesus and he gave away half of his possessions (see Luke 19). The widow with only two coins completely trusted God, so she gave the most exemplary offering ever given (see Mark 12:41-43).

In contrast, the rich ruler loved his money rather than God so he departed Jesus with sadness (see Luke 18:18-24). The Pharisees were known as dishonest lovers of money because they did not receive Jesus (see Luke 16:14-15). The Roman ruler Felix had no respect for the man of God, Paul, and simply used him to try to get money. Good stewardship is a stranger to those who lack a healthy relationship with the owner.

Therefore, authentic stewardship begins with a proper relationship with the owner. This relationship will change us from the inside out. Stewardship is not a set of rules we keep or actions we take, it is an expression of who we are in relationship with God, the owner.

I had a conversation recently with a man who asked what I did. When I responded that I try to help folks live generous lives he replied that with today’s economy this was a bad time for that kind of work. He indicated that he himself had lost a million dollars and he seemed somewhat bitter. It seems to me that if he had a million dollars to lose and is still remaining solvent, then he should have been thankful for the ability to lose that much. If I had more time to talk, I might have suggest that God might have simply taken back some of what He had entrusted to him since he seemed to be doing little with it. Our stewardship says a great deal about who we are and our relationship with the owner.

Comments

[WILLIAM F ROBERTSON]

WELL DONE.THOUGHT PROVOKING.THANK YOU.BILL ROBERTSON

[Tim]

Right on Terry.