by Andrew Pust

This study of stewardship begins with what the Lord taught His disciples. Following issues will delve further into this topic and cover the following:

A wise man and a fool—we take a look at the definition of stewardship from Noah Webster’s 1828 dictionary and tag along with Jesus as He begins a series of parables about stewardship.

Faithfulness requires faith—we consider the role that faith and security
play in the matter of stewardship.

A job interview pop quiz style—how is a steward chosen for the task? This is instructive for both “masters” and “servants.”

Stewardship lost—a look at the choices of a steward who failed his master’s trust.

Duty, honor, God—what should a steward’s attitude be toward his master? Is appreciation for services rendered a right of service? We also look at the final parable that Jesus taught just prior to his entry into Jerusalem and subsequent arrest.

In conclusion: What are you waiting for?—the characters from the last parable we looked at become real life people upon Christ’s resurrection.

The impetus for this study on stewardship started several years ago during a time at Ironwood when we were trying to encourage efficiency among our staff. We are committed to keeping camp fees as low as possible and realized that a commitment to efficiency was a necessary part of accomplishing that goal. We could do obvious things like turning off lights when leaving a room or an area. We encouraged our folks to run their coolers on low if possible, turn back the heat when buildings or homes were not in use, be careful with water usage, and so on. But how to make the necessity for efficiency a personal matter was difficult to accomplish.

As I considered the problem, I thought that a sense of ownership was lacking. When housing is provided and utilities are taken care of, it is natural for those things to be taken for granted. Less attention is paid to the usage and care of those things than would probably be the case if those costs came directly from the inhabitant’s pocketbook. Several ideas were discussed such as a utilities allowance for each household. We found that given the current physical differences in our staff homes it would not be possible to make that idea work equitably. We had other ideas, but some existing condition prevented us from implementing any of them.

I then thought that education might be the answer. If we could teach our staff to have a better sense of ownership for the ministry and everything in it, we would have our problem solved. So I started searching Scripture for ammunition to back up my “greater sense of ownership” campaign. We have since abandoned the ownership theme; it became clear, though I was reluctant at first to accept what I found, that a greater sense of ownership was not at all what was needed. I discovered that what we needed—and what each one of you needs—is not a better understanding of ownership at all, but rather an understanding of what a steward is.

I resisted the direction this study was taking me. Ownership sounds so much more important. Of course, as Christians we are called to be servants, and I accept that, but we are just talking in a spiritual sense, right? The Bible doesn’t tell me to turn off the lights when I leave the room or to be careful with water usage. Surely those things aren’t spiritual, are they? They are just mundane, practical matters of life that God expects us to understand and somehow make good choices about.

The essence of this dilemma was something that I would challenge the guys in my college dorm when I was a dorm supervisor. We cannot separate our lives into what is sacred and therefore governed by God, and what is secular and therefore governed by me. Guys would strive to polish up their spiritual side so that they would look good for their teachers, the dean of students, their friends, a girl . . ., and at the same time worked very hard not to allow the spiritual side of their lives interfere with what they considered to be personal territory—music, reading material, amusements, and so on. “Since this part of my life doesn’t affect anyone else I can decide for myself, right? I have rights you know.”

By now I hope you have identified with the problem before us. It is true that there are certain rights of ownership. It is also true that there is only one owner of everything, and He is God, the Creator of the Universe. As His creation, we each have one all-encompassing role to fulfill—to be His servant. It is an amazing thought that God would chose to use us, sinful as we are, to participate in His affairs here on earth in the capacity of steward. Since that is the case, we really ought to find out what this thing called stewardship is all about.

Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines stewardship as “the office of a steward.” At first glance, the definition seems to not be much of a definition at all. My teachers taught me that it was not proper to define a word with itself. But Webster’s definition is actually quite profound. When someone holds an office, it is common for the office to become the identity of that person. For instance, one who holds the office of judge, or senator, or president becomes one with that office—a great deal of power and privilege accompanies the office. Another very weighty title that each of these individuals bear is that of public servant. Maybe you have heard them referred to as “stewards of the public trust.” They are responsible to exercise the duties of their office because they will answer to the authority who gave them that office.

We are each equally responsible to exercise the duties of the office of steward that we have been given by God. Stewardship makes life work. One thing is certain, this is no system that fallen man would ever have devised. We cringe at the thought of servitude. We fight tooth and nail to rise to the top where we can give the orders. It is no wonder that so little has been written about stewardship other than a few words here and there about money. Stewardship concerns everyone and everything we touch. We may not like what it stands for, but stewardship is still the best term to describe the relationship between an individual, his authority figure, and the responsibilities that he has been given.

The reason we don’t like to consider stewardship is one of authority, and more specifically someone else’s authority over me. We would much rather go on pretending that we own what is in our possession—if we own something, we have the authority to do what we want with it. Remember how as children we used to dream of the day that we would be old enough to make our own decisions and not have to do what anyone else told us? (I don’t think I was the only one!) The attitude we are talking about here is part of our fallen nature. That is why ownership sounds so liberating, and stewardship is pushed under the bed. We want to be free agents in life, not beholden to anyone else. The problem is that we don’t actually own anything. Furthermore, we often use ownership as an excuse to misuse and abuse. God, on the other hand, owns everything, me included (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). Everything in my possession is a gift from Him, so the question I should ask is not, “What can I do with what I have?” but, “What should I do with what I have?”

God has expectations for His children. Paul boils those expectations down to two words—glorify God. What does that mean? How is God’s glory accomplished? The Lord spent considerable time teaching about stewardship during His earthly years of ministry. He wanted His disciples, and all believers who would come after them, to understand the importance of stewardship, because it is the person who embraces the office of steward who will accomplish the goal of bringing glory to God.

Life’s journey is one of constant choices. Destinations other than God’s glory bombard us constantly, seeking to draw us away from a life of stewardship. The greatest danger at all times is self. Our bent toward sin and self creates a constant, inner struggle about whom we will choose to serve. At the same time, we will be tempted to try to accomplish God’s glory some other way. Hebrews 11 is a sober reminder of the challenges, dangers, heartaches, and loneliness that are part of the road ahead. In case you are wondering, yes it will be worth it all to one day hear the Lord say “Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord!” (Matthew 25:21) Ready or not, now we take the first step on a journey that God expects every believer to take.