A steward manages what belongs to someone else. He does not own the house, the field, or the money in his hand. They are entrusted to him, and one day he must give an account of what he did with them. The Bible says that is exactly the position every one of us is in before God. We own nothing absolutely. Everything we have, even our very lives, has been put in our hands by Him. Let us see what the Scriptures teach about stewardship.
The Earth Is the Lord's
We begin where the Bible begins, with God as owner of it all. "The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein" (Psalm 24:1). Paul reminded Timothy that "we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out" (1 Timothy 6:7). Between those two empty hands lies everything we will ever possess, and all of it is loaned, not owned. The sooner that truth sinks in, the easier it becomes to hold things loosely and give them freely.
What Hast Thou That Thou Didst Not Receive
Paul asked the Corinthians a question every Christian needs to sit with: "For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?" (1 Corinthians 4:7). Every breath, every dollar, every ability, every moment of strength comes from God's hand. The right response to that is not pride, as if we had earned it, but gratitude, and faithful use of what we have been given.
Required of Stewards
God does not measure stewards by how much He gave them, but by what they did with what He gave. "Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful" (1 Corinthians 4:2). Peter wrote, "As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God" (1 Peter 4:10). The one who has little is responsible to be faithful with little; the one who has much, with much. Faithfulness, not size, is what God commends.
The Parable of the Talents
Jesus drew this out unforgettably. A man going on a long journey entrusted his goods to his servants, giving five talents to one, two to another, and one to a third (Matthew 25:14-15). The first two traded and doubled what they had been given. Their master returned and said to each, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord" (Matthew 25:21). The third man buried his single talent in the ground and gave it back unchanged. He heard a very different word: "Thou wicked and slothful servant" (Matthew 25:26). The Lord did not blame him for having less. He blamed him for doing nothing with what he had.
Faithful in Everything He Has Given
Stewardship reaches into every part of a life. It touches our money, for Jesus said, "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much... If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?" (Luke 16:10-11), and warned, "Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Luke 16:13). It touches our very bodies, for Paul wrote, "ye are not your own. For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). And one day each of us will hear the question put to every steward: what did you do with what I gave you? "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God" (Romans 14:12). So live as a steward, not as an owner. Hold loosely, give freely, work faithfully, and you will hear the only words that finally matter, well done.