Why Are We Called to Stewardship?
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My husband and I recently have been discussing the value of stewardship. It is a continual prayer in asking the Lord to lead us as we are given resources for His kingdom. It is important to ask hard questions, to compare options before saying yes so that we can give our time, money, and giftings in the most effective ways. It truly can be a process of eliminating the lesser for the better. What does the Bible say about stewardship and why is it important?
Stewardship is mentioned many times in the New Testament. We see it a lot in the parables given to us by Jesus. There is the parable of the talents found in Matthew 25:14-30 and Luke 19:12-28. This is when a wealthy man leaves three servants with a variety of talents – the first with five, the second with two, and the last with one. The first two servants multiply their talents while the master was away, but the last servant digs a hole in the ground and protects his one talent. When the master returns, the first two are celebrated for their investments and the final is corrected for wasting his talent and hiding it. We can multiply what God has given, or we can hide it and do nothing with it.
There is also the time when Jesus tells of an example of poor stewardship in Luke 16:1-12. 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 talks about being servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. We are called to be trustworthy with the message of the gospel. 2 Corinthians 5:19-21 reminds us that we are Jesus’ ambassadors. This is a word used for someone who represents another country in a foreign land. Once accepting Jesus as Savior, we are members of the kingdom of heaven. We are given the role of ambassadors on this earth to represent Jesus here.
One of the clearest concepts of stewardship is communicated about the gospel. Every believer has this responsibility – will we multiply and share the gospel or hide it and keep it to ourselves?
This is more than just financial. Romans 14:12 says, “So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.” We are given our personalities, giftings, and resources for purposes to share the gospel and love well. If we are building our own kingdoms and ignoring the Lord’s, then we miss out on the gift of joining in and multiplying our lives. 1 Timothy 4:14 reminds us not to neglect the spiritual gifts within us. When we accept Jesus and the Holy Spirit enters our hearts, we are given a spiritual gift. We are invited to be a good steward of that gift.
We are all invited to offer what we have for the glory of God. Whether we think this is in abundance or in little, the Lord loves a cheerful giver. He sees our hearts and will honor a life of stewardship for His kingdom.
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