Skip to main content

Stewardship in the Bible

By
photo of plant,


Photo Credit: Chinh Le Duc

Stewardship 

A. Our Stewardship

The word "steward" in the New Testament is used to describe someone who administers the property of another. God appoints all born-again believers as His stewards. It means that God appoints us over certain resources and things of God as stewards. The born-again believers are stewards, managers, or administrators over at least the following things:

  1. Our natural talents, such as personality, skills, and aptitudes.
  2. The truth of the Gospel revealed to us, God’s indwelling Spirit, and the gifts received from God.
  3. Possessions acquired during our lifetime.
  4. Time.

All these things—natural talents, the Gospel, the Holy Spirit, wealth, and time—are God’s own possessions, but God has given them to us for a time.

B. Basic Principles of Stewardship (Matthew 25:14-30)

To handle all God-given resources, we need to understand different aspects of stewardship. From the parable in Matthew 25:14-30, the following important principles of stewardship can be understood:

  1. Allocation of Resources: God, the owner of all resources, allocates resources to the steward “according to his ability” (Matthew 25:15).
  2. Management of Resources: The steward is responsible for gaining a return on all the resources in his charge as allocated by the owner, God. Faithfulness is the baseline for handling God-given resources (Matthew 25:16-18).
  3. The Relationship between the Steward and Master: The relationship is based on the owner’s trust in his steward and the steward’s recognition of the owner’s authority (Matthew 25:15, 19).
  4. Account Settling: All stewards are under observation and are charged with using all of their resources. The stewards do not know when they will be called to settle the account, but they are aware that they will be subject to review when the owner returns (Matthew 25:19).

C. The Road to Low Returns

If the steward does not handle the resources properly, they will be on the road to low returns from the resources God has placed in their care. The following are reasons for this:

Lack of Knowledge (Matthew 25:24-27):

  • Lack of knowledge about the owner God’s rights over the resources He has placed in our hands.
  • Lack of knowledge of the trust placed in the steward by Master God.
  • Lack of knowledge of the nature of the review of resource handling.

Low Levels of Investment Activity: 

If stewards are not investing the resources God has placed in their hands, the return will be low (Matthew 25:24-25).

Fear and Uncertainty: 

Fear of using the God-given resources wisely and faithfully may result in low returns (Matthew 25:25).

D. Natural Talents: Route of a Good Steward to Blessing

Source: God gives us talents.
Our Role: We need to develop our talents and use them for His glory. Without God’s help, we will be nowhere with our talents.

E. Gospel and Holy Spirit: Route of a Good Steward to Blessing

  • Lead a Life Worthy of the Gospel: Philippians 1:27 — "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ."
  • Suffer for the Gospel: Philippians 1:16, 29 — "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him."
  • Stand Firm in the Gospel: 2 Thessalonians 2:14-15 — "Stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter."
  • Preach the Gospel: Mark 16:15 — "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation."
  • God Will Reward Us: Revelation 3:11; 22:12-13 — "Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds."

F. Material Possessions: Route of a Good Steward to Blessing

Earnings:

Earn in a manner worthy of your relationship with God.

Possessing:

Hold money only as God directs, subject to His guidance and control.

Giving:

  • Tithe: Give a minimum of a tithe to God, and also give to the poor.
  • Freely: Matthew 10:8 — "Freely you have received; freely give."
  • Generously: Romans 12:8 — "If it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously."
  • Systematically: 1 Corinthians 16:2 — "Set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income."
  • Modestly: Matthew 6:3-4 — "Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing."
  • Joyfully: 2 Corinthians 9:7 — "God loves a cheerful giver."

Blessing:

God promises blessings when we obey Him.

G. Time: Route of a Good Steward to Blessing

Time is our life. We need to handle our time wisely by investing it in the Kingdom of God.

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Commentary on 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

By
  Photo credit:  Shaira Dela Peña  Commentary on 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 Literary context, features, and issues 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 (a) There is a debate among the scholars whether chapter 13 is prose or hymn. [1] (b) There are literary parallels for chapter 13 in Greek and Hellenistic Jewish literature. [2] (c) It is often suggested that chapter 13 interrupted the flow of Pauline discussion on the spiritual gifts [3] and this chapter used stylistic forms. [4] Consequently, scholars think that chapter 13 is out of place or it is a non-Pauline interpolation and literary critics even questioned the authorship of this chapter. [5] It is also suggested that Chapter 13 is a digression. [6] It has been recognized as an epideictic showpiece that is used to exhort Corinthians to keep love as their guiding principles of life in the community. [7] Commentary of 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 The need to have love (1 Corinthians 13:1-3) Agape is used 18 times in LXX a...
Read more

Jewish Sects and Movements during the Intertestamental Period (New Testament Background, part-3)

By
Picture credit: Konrad Hofmann Jewish Sects and Movements during the Intertestamental Period (New Testament Background, part-3) (a) Temple, Law, and Priests (Sadducees) The Pentateuch was completed long before Hellenism. The re-established Jerusalem temple was the center of the religion. Though the highest political authority was the Persians, the Jerusalem temple state held the highest authority, with no other authority surpassing that of the temple and priests. The guardians of the temple and its cult, as well as the interpreters of the law, were the priests. The priests were the wealthiest aristocrats in the land. It is concluded that the wealthiest priestly families were open to Hellenistic elements. One of the reasons for the Maccabean revolt was the Hellenization of the priests, particularly the family of the Oniads. After the revolt, the Hasmoneans were supported by priests with different theological orientations who stood against Hellenization. The priests during the time of t...
Read more

The Literature of Judaism in the Hellenistic Period (New Testament Background, part-4)

By
Photo credit: The  Jewish Museum, New York   The Literature of Judaism in the Hellenistic Period (New Testament Background, part-4) (a) The Language of Judaism in the Hellenistic Period Hebrew continued as the religious language after the exile. Many books written in this period in Hebrew came to light through the discoveries of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Aramaic was the colloquial and business language in Syria and Mesopotamia and was spoken in Palestine. It was developed as an administrative language in the Assyrian Empire. But after the conquest of the Persian Empire by Alexander, Aramaic continued as a second administrative language after Greek and was used as a business and colloquial language even during the Roman Empire. Aramaic was used for Jewish writings. Moreover, during the Hellenistic period, Greek became a more influential language, but Aramaic survived. Greek became prominent because of Greek colonization and the significance of Greek as a cultural language. In Pales...
Read more