What do you believe about stewardship? Part 2
In Part One of “What Do You Believe About Stewardship?”, we considered stewardship in light of the ownership of God—I am the creation of God and I am made in the image of God. Now let’s look closer at what it means to be a steward or manager.
As Genesis 1:26 makes clear those who are made “in the image of God” are to “subdue and rule” over the rest of creation of God. We are given the task of managing the creation of God. That management was done in the context of relationship with God—as created to Creator and as image of God to God.
The meaning of “steward”
The most common word used in the New Testament to express this management task is the Greek word “oikonomos,” best translated “steward”. In Luke 12:42 the word refers to the chief servant of the household who manages the overall affairs of that household. Luke 16:1-2 includes managing the financial affairs as well. In 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 Paul expands that function to refer to persons who have been “entrusted” with the secret things of God. Peter focuses it on the one who “administers God’s grace.”
The parable in Luke 12:41-48 best illustrates the various facets of being a steward. First there are three relationships: (1) the owner’s relationship with his property, (2) the relationship of the owner and the steward, and (3) the relationship of the steward to the owner’s property. The steward’s task is to manage what has been given for the designated purpose of the owner.
Ownership, purpose, and task
The application to our discipleship today is clear. God delegated to men and women the stewardship of His creation. The creation does not belong to men and women. It belongs to God. Men and women are to manage that creation for the purpose of the owner, God. That purpose is two-fold—the glory of God and the good of man. The task of the steward is administration or management.
This stewardship task is also a partnership. In Ephesians 3:2 Paul writes that he has been given an “oikonomia” by God for the Ephesians. To the church at Colossae, Paul wrote “I have become its servant by the commission (oikonomia) God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness”. God has invited the Christian to be a partner with Him in the carrying out of His purposes.
What do you believe about stewardship? I believe there are two critical pillars to understanding stewardship. God is the owner of all creation. This is demonstrated by the fact that He created all things and that we are made in His image. Our role is to be a steward. We steward by how we manage that portion of the creation that He has entrusted to us and we do so as a partner in fulfilling His Kingdom purposes.
Questions to consider
Understanding that you are a manager, evaluate how you manage the resources God has provided to you. As one pastor put it, “How are you managing your time, talent, treasure and testimony?”
Understanding that stewardship is a partnership, how is that partnership reflected in your life as a disciple of Jesus Christ?
Shift the focus from what you “believe about stewardship,” to asking how are you living as a steward?
Stanley Smith serves as the interim church growth team leader for the Baptist Convention of New England.
