Stewardship: A Gift and Responsibility

When you hear the word “steward or stewardship” what comes to mind?   Ownership or inheiritance? Care of the earth?  Financial management?  Biblical stewardship recognizes that everything we have and enjoy comes from and is owned by Him. Biblical stewardship goes far deeper than your checkbook—it touches every single thing you have, every choice you make, and every moment you breathe. Because the practice of stewardship is one of the primary ways God grows your faith, reveals your heart, and prepares you for eternity.

THE RESPONSIBILITY OF STEWARDSHIP

From the beginning of time God gave mankind the responsibility to take care of the earth and all of the things God has given us.   Basics to teach our children are to care about wildlife and not to litter and polute the world.  When I was growing up we had advetisements from Smokey the Bear and an Owl telling us to “give a hoot”.  I tried to teach my kids to not be wasteful and to take care of their toys and our home. I don’t see that ethic in our throw away society.  It makes me sad to see McDonalds wrappers carelessly strewn about the sides of the road.

 

 

STEWARDSHIP OF TIME

There are so many distractions around that I often catch myself just wasting time!  When I was working and my children were small I had to manage my time well. Now I feel like I have adult ADD.  We are to use time wisely and live as if today were our last. That thought is a little more sobbering.

Ephesians 5:15–16     Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

Psalm 90:12   So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

 

 

FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP

Jesus didn’t have a big bank account yet he did talk about money and how we view it.  He saw through people who were greedy and uncharitable.  We are told to pay our taxes and give a portion (tithe) of our income to God’s house.

Leviticus 27:30   “Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the LORD’s; it is holy to the LORD.

Proverbs 3:27   Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.

When you put together a financial portfolio it includes the cash you have in the bank AND all of your other possessions:  house, land, cars, jewelry stocks and bonds etc.   In America we have a lot we take for granted.  The early church sold extra goods to help one another. We are to practice charity and hospitality to bring glory to God.

 

 

 

GIVING OF YOUR ABILITIES/ TALENTS

Volunteering is a great way to give back to God.  We are all designed differently and have various gifts and abilities .  Moses made a lot of excuses when God called him.  I can’t speak what do I own after living in the desert? God provided a helper to speak and asked Moses, “what is in your hand”?  A staff.   The little boy gave Jesus his lunch and it fed the multitude.

Colossians 3:17    And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

1 Peter 4:9–11    Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:  whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

 

STEWARDS OF GOD”S GRACE

Every Christmas we hear the lines from the book of Luke…”good news for ALL THE PEOPLE”.  We need to share the good news of peace with God,  the power of the resurrection  and promise of eternity with Him.  People need the Lord and we have the answer.

 

Ephesians 2:8–9    For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Romans 10:14–15      How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?  And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

 

Randy Travis wrote a beautiful song called “Three Wooden Crosses“.  The refrain states;

It’s not what you take when you leave this world behind you,
It’s what you leave behind you when you go.