"Just Caretakers"
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I have some friends who run a supermarket in the Seattle area, and the care they put into managing their company has taught me a lot about work and life. Why do they bring such love and thought to each aspect of their business? Well, they call it stewardship. It's a family business that they hope will thrive many generations into the future. They aren't permanent owners, just caretakers of their grandchildren's heritage. And when we open the Scriptures, we discover that we're all just caretakers of God's blessings.
We're Cross Training to develop our fruitfulness, one of twelve marks of the Master we're working on this year. Fruitfulness comes when we're accountable, full of zeal, diligent workers, and good stewards of our blessings. So when we accept our role as stewards, how does that change our relationships?
What You Need to Know
To steward is to manage something that doesn't belong to you faithfully. As Jesus asks, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager (KJV: "steward"), whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time?" (Luke 12:42). The steward must answer for his choices, for "it is required of stewards that they be found faithful" (1 Cor. 4:2).
Humans were given dominion over the world to enjoy and subdue (Gen. 1:26-28). When God placed Adam in the garden of Eden in Genesis 2, he assigned him "to work it and to keep it" (Gen. 2:15). Even paradise was a blessing to steward. All that we have is a stewardship, since "the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof" (1 Cor. 10:26). We even steward our bodies: "You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body" (1 Cor. 6:19-20). And when we realize none of it belongs to us, it changes how we live.
What You Need to Do
Aim to give more than you get, to produce meaningful fruit from all the rich resources the Lord pours into your life. In Jesus' parable about the fruitless fig tree, the landowner asks, "Why should it use up the ground?" (Luke 13:7). The vinedresser, though, requests permission to give it more resources. He says, "let it alone this year ... until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down*" (Luke 13:8-9). In other words, as the Lord pours blessings down, we have a purpose beyond merely enjoying them. He wants us to use them, doing good works (Eph. 2:10) and sharing with others (1 Tim. 6:17-19). Steward your energy, your money, your relationships, and your time (Eph. 5:16-17). How can you produce the most fruit for the kingdom?
Make financial choices as a money manager for the Lord. God wants us to enjoy his blessings (Eccl. 3:12-13; 1 Tim. 4:3-5). And what you have is yours in that you have the authority right now over how to use it (Acts 5:4). Yet ultimately, everything is the Lord's, who loves us and provides for us (Deut. 10:14). Stewarding money doesn't mean "making lots of money for myself." It means making sound investments for the master and his kingdom. You could be a pro at money management — living within your means and growing your portfolio — and yet a terrible steward. Like the rich man in Jesus' story that God called a "fool" at his death, we may have stored up lots of money, but are we "rich toward God" (Luke 12:16-21)?
Look around your relationships and see at gifts you've been entrusted with, faithfully tending to them as stewardships. The friend who trusts you with their secret wounds (Prov. 17:9, 17), the husband or wife that you uniquely get to call "yours" (Song 2:16), and the children God fills your quiver with so you can aim to send them into the world straight and true (Psalm 127:1-5). Those we love are not ours to own, but they pass through our lives as both a gift and an opportunity to bless them on their way, directing them to the true lover of their soul (John 15:13).
Through the Week
- Read (Mon) — Luke 19:11-27; Gen. 1:26-31; Matt. 24:44-51; 1 Peter 4:9-11; Luke 16:1-13
- Reflect (Tue) — Do I consider myself the owner or the servant manager of "my possessions"?
- Request (Wed) — "Lord, give me wisdom for the care of all you entrust to me" (cf. Matt. 24:45).
- Respond (Thu) — Devote a few extra dollars and a few extra minutes growing "kingdom" fruit in someone today.
- Reach Out (Fri) — What does fruitfulness look like to you, in real, everyday life?
