The Word 

Stewardship 

This is something that has been on my heart and mind lately. I don’t know if  it’s the holidays or the fact that I steward Protector’s Toolkit or that I steward  my house. While thinking about stewardship I also heard in in a message recently from one of my pastors – it was the story of Elisha and the Widow’s  Olive Oil from 2 Kings 4 – in which the widow tells the Prophet I have nothing  – “I have nothing in the house except a jar of olive oil.” 

When she says she “has nothing” that is not entirely true. No matter what we  have, how little it may seem in our hands, there a couple facts that hold true: 

• What you do have comes from God 

• God gives in abundance 

• And, there is nothing so little that God can’t do big things with it.  

CS Lewis said this: Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving  your limbs from moment to moment, is given you by God. If you devoted every  moment of your whole life exclusively to His service, you could not give Him  anything that was not in a sense His own already. 

We are to be stewards of everything that God gives is – so the word  stewardship has been on my heart lately. Maybe it’s my 2021 word for the  year – I’m not sure but, I am certainly going to pray on that more.  Unfortunately, many Christians today only associate the idea of stewardship  with sermons they have heard about church budgets so let’s get aligned on  what stewardship is. 

Contrary to worldly thinking, the Bible tells us that we are not the ultimate  owners of physical possessions or financial assets. We are to operate as  managers of our time, energy, money, and talents. God is ruler over  all…period. 

There are three clear aspects of stewardship:  

• Oversees what belongs to another. 

• Carries authority to manage what has been entrusted. 

• Is responsible—he or she will give an account to the owner. 

At the core of stewardship is cultivating a cheerful generosity toward God, His  Kingdom, and others (see 2 Corinthians 9:6-7). 

Responsibility is part of what it means to be created in the image of God  (Genesis 1). As image bearers of God, we exercise limited dominion and  authority… the Bible tells us that we are not the ultimate owners of physical  possessions or financial assets. We are to operate as managers of our time,  energy, money, and talents. God is ruler over all…period. As mid-level  managers within God’s great creation each of us are given the same general  responsibilities—caring for God’s creation, caring for ourselves, etc.—and we  receive specific areas of oversight and dominion as well—ministry, vocation,  family, etc. 

With this in mind, Paul wrote that he was to be considered a steward of the  mysteries of God (1 Corinthians 4:1). One translation says he was “put in  charge of explaining God’s mysteries.” One of the gifts on Paul’s life was  revelation; to communicate mysteries—hidden truths that had not yet been  revealed.  

Therefore, the exact stewardship he refers to is not managing money, time, or  resources (all valid stewardships), but rather managing the gift on his life. 

The great thing about our responsibilities is that God created us in such a way  that He provides for us through the work of our hands. When we are lazy,  disobedient, or otherwise irresponsible with our various responsibilities, we  often suffer the consequences of “lack” by our own hands. 

In the Bible, stewardship is the inherent standard to which God calls leaders— whether we’re leading a country, business, church committee, community ...