The primary and fundamental biblical principles of True Stewardship in scriptures state clearly that God owns everything not us; we’re only his managers and administrators working on his behalf.
Many people have recently made extensive use of the term stewardship. However, with stewardship, we may raise the question, “Exactly what does stewardship sound like in our conduct and within the household at the moment?” Tragically, majority of Christians now link the concept of stewardship with seminars about church finances, business, and construction or fabrication initiatives.
However, at Your Money Counts, we believe that biblical stewardship encompasses much more. We think it is where the concepts of faith, work, and economy come together. To truly understand the notion of leadership as stewardship, we must first read and study God’s Word, the Holy Scriptures. This can help us create a foundation for understanding the biblical concept of stewardship.
Let’s take a glimpse at some key aspects of biblical stewardship that we need to comprehend:
1. The Fundamental tenet of Sovereign Ownership.
In the 24th Psalm, the poet declares that the LORD owns the land, the globe, and all its inhabitants.
In Genesis 1, God creates each and every thing and places Adam in the Garden to work and care for it. It is apparent that man was intended to work, and that labor entails taking care of all of God’s creation.
This is the core premise of biblical stewardship. God holds and owns creation; we are only stewards or managers operating on behalf of him. As a result, stewardship conveys our adherence to the administration and maintenance of all God has put under our charge, which is comprehensive.
Stewardship is the dedication of oneself and assets or belongings to God’s service while acknowledging that we have no authority to manage our property or ourselves.
In line with Deuteronomy 8:17, we may declare, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” Deuteronomy 8:18 reminds us that the LORD is the source of wealth creation.
2. The Concept of Responsibility.
Despite the fact that God provides us “all things generously to enjoy,” none pertains to us. Actually we owns nothing, all we have is all we received. God owns every single thing; we are accountable for how we handle it and what we do with it. Although we whine about our privileges on earth, the Bible often asks, exactly what about your responsibilities and accountabilities? This is biblical truth; Owners have rights, while stewards have obligations.
As God’s stewards, we are responsible for managing what belongs to God not us. Whereas God have kindly charged us with the maintenance, growth, and pleasure of all he owns as his stewards, we must manage his properties wisely and in accordance with his goals and purposes.
3. The Concept of Accountability (Transparency).
The position of steward is someone who administers the assets of another. We are all stewards of the assets, talents, and possibilities that God has entrusted to us, and one day, every one of us will be held to account for how we have used what the Lord has gifted us.
The Parable of the Talents teaches us this lesson. God has given us dominion over all that He created, and we are not permitted to reign over it as we see proper. We are supposed to manage our authority under the careful sight of the God, governing his creation according to the standards he has set for us all.
As the servants in the Parable of the Talents, we shall be held accountable for how we made use of whatever we received, and including our precious time, assets, talents, knowledge, wisdom, connections, and responsibilities. We shall all answer to the proper ownership for how effectively we administered and managed the resources committed to each of us.
4. The Concept of Reward Fulfillment.
In Colossians 3:23-24 Paul writes:
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
The Bible’s Kingdom analogies teach us that trustworthy managers who accomplish their employer’s purpose with the master’s resources deserve to be repaid partially in this life but completely in the life to come.
We must all love to have the master of all affirm what he does in Matthew 25:21:
Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!
As Christians in the twenty-first century, we ought to accept a broader scriptural understanding of stewardship that extends beyond the scope of church monetary resources and building endeavors while these are vital; it ties all we do to what God is accomplishing in the nations around us today.
We must be faithful stewards of everything that God has given us within the possibilities afforded by his sovereignty in order to praise him, promote the common good, and advance his Kingdom.
Conclusion
It’s important and necessary to understand and accept the fact that God gave us every faculty we have, including the ability to think and move our entire body from time to time. If we spent each second of our life to serve Him, we would be unable to offer Him something that wasn’t already His. Let’s be faithful stewards, who live and work as administrators and managers of God resources from the beginning to the end. We must accept the truth that we own nothing, all we have is what we have receives from the owner; He is God Almighty and the creator and giver of everything.