The Ethic of a Christian- pt7- Stewardship

We talked about generosity last week, and now this week I want to talk about its companion in this system of ethics that reflect our faith. The word stewardship brings up a lot of different ideas to mind in most people. It can conjure up visions of people having control over others. Or how we view taking care of the environment. Or if you grew up in church, it’s synonymous with money…cuz every church in the 1900s had a “stewardship committee” that was responsible for counting the offerings.

When we look in the Bible we also see this word and this idea, but its implications are much more vast. In truth, when we think about “stewarding” based on scripture the implications affect our entire lives- not just one area or sphere.

So let’s go on a journey together and look at how we steward well according to Jesus.

Turn with me first to Psalm 24:1-2.

I want to start here and then roll back to Genesis, because this verse lays the foundation for WHO we are stewards for.

King David knows that even as he looks at his vast kingdom it is just on loan. Look at verse 1-

God owns the earth.

Psalms 1–72: An Introduction and Commentary The All-Creating (24:1, 2)

the first and emphatic Hebrew word is the Lord’s, in verse 1, and he in verse 2. To him as Creator and Sustainer (2), pictured as a city’s founder and establisher, belongs the earth in all its aspects: fruitful earth (1a), peopled earth (1b), solid earth (2). Fullness (translated in 98:7 as ‘all that fills it’) conjures up its wealth and fertility, seen here not as man’s, for exploitation, but, prior to that, as God’s, for his satisfaction and glory

Can we make it any simpler. We are here as guests of the owner. But not just the earth does He own. He owns “everything in it.”

That’s a LOT. Everything in it means that we don’t own anything.

Ownership is a big deal. Buying our first house or car. Getting a pet. A nice set of work clothes. That hot new tech trend.

And ownership can be contested. Unless- the person who owns it is also the creator. A creator is the ultimate owner (hip hop sampling)

Hence verse 2- God founded and established. The Creator’s right of ownership is irrevocable- UNLESS He cedes it to another.

So go back with me to Genesis 2:15-17.

God looks at the crown of His creation and says steward this.

Genesis 1–11:26 (2) The Man’s Life in the Garden (2:8–17)

In the garden God gives the man a purposeful existence that includes overseeing his environment. Work is a God-given assignment and not a cursed condition. It was sin that spoiled the pristine relationship between the man and his environment, making work a toilsome chore that became a requirement for mere existence

Work- make it increase in value

Keep- protect it from destruction

And He sets limits on its use:

Stay away from this one tree

And we all know how that turned out.

So human beings are given stewardship over ALL creation. God allows us to steward His good gifts. And yet, we have choice about what we will do with them.

How do we steward what God has given us well?

Turn with me to Matthew 25:14-30.

Jesus tells this story about stewardship. He has three people in the story who have varying levels of trust to manage.

Matthew 2. Judgment on the Temple but Also on the Nations (23:1–25:46)

this passage expands on the nature of the preparedness to which the previous parables were pointing, defining the task with which believers are to be occupied until Christ returns, namely, good stewardship for his benefit of all that he has loaned us

God gives people different things to steward because we are all gifted in different ways. Some are really good with money, other with relationships, others with systems, others with food, others with wisdom…list goes on. God doesn not make mistakes and ALL of us have a trust, something we have been given to steward and steward well.

Matthew 2. Judgment on the Temple but Also on the Nations (23:1–25:46)

“In the kingdom of Christ not all are created equal.” Nor is everyone expected to perform at the same level of competence, but all are expected to do their best as faithful stewards

What is fascinating is the person with the least to lose is the most fearful. He does not steward what He has been given well.

Stewardship requires both wisdom and risk.

It is about FAITH not success as we view it.

We are not in control of the outcomes, but of the obedience.

Why is that?

Because what we have been given DOES NOT belong to us. So when God says GO and do this with what I have given you, we need to be willing to obey.

Matthew 2. Judgment on the Temple but Also on the Nations (23:1–25:46)

Those who have been good stewards of all the time, material resources, and abilities God has given them (and not just with a tenth of these) can expect commendation, happiness, and eternal life from God

Why is this so important? Go with me to 1 Peter 4:10-11.

There are 2 things here that are vital:

First, we are given stewardship to serve others. God has given us what He has given us not just for US, but because we are going to be in positions to serve other people who need what we have been trusted with.

1, 2 Peter, Jude (4) Living in Light of the End (4:7–11)

Gifts are not given so that believers can congratulate themselves on their abilities. They are bestowed “to serve others

1, 2 Peter, Jude (4) Living in Light of the End (4:7–11)

The point is that spiritual gifts are given to serve and to help others, to strengthen others in the faith. They are bestowed for ministry, not to enhance self-esteem

1, 2 Peter, Jude (4) Living in Light of the End (4:7–11)

Spiritual gifts are not fundamentally a privilege but a responsibility, a call to be faithful to what God has bestowed

Second, that service brings glory to Jesus- and when Jesus is glorified people get saved!

1, 2 Peter, Jude (4) Living in Light of the End (4:7–11)

The provider is always the one who is praised. If human beings are the source of wisdom and strength for ministry, they deserve to be complimented. But if understanding and energy come from the Lord, he gets the glory as the one who empowers his people. We should note that God receives the glory “through Jesus Christ,” for the glory that redounds to God comes through the gospel the Petrine readers received (1:3, 10–12, 18–19; 2:21–25; 3:18). This gospel focuses on Jesus Christ as the crucified and risen Lord, and hence God is praised for what he has done in and through Jesus the Christ

One of the biggest questions in the American church right now is why are fewer people coming to Jesus and why are people leaving the church. Part of the answer is staring us right in the face- we are less engaged in serving people, and more consumed with our own interest- literally burying our trusts in the sands of our own benefit- and a watching world is not just unimpressed, they are dismissive of a faith so far distanced from what Jesus said to do and be.

So what is the remedy for this poor stewardship? Look with me finally at Colossians 3:23-24.

This is one of my favorite passages of scripture because it is a challenge to me when I am faced with adversity. And it is not one I always meet- which means it is convicting to read it but also strengthening.

When I work with what I have, I am not working for me or for others. I am working for Jesus. I am responsible to a audience of one. And my one job is to make Him famous. It is all He has asked me to do with what I have.

Philippians, Colossians, Philemon Servants (3:22–25)

The phrase occurs synonymously with the word “heart,” but if there is a difference, perhaps it is in the fact that “soul” stresses the life principle and expended energy, rather than the pure choice which comes from the heart. Thus one may choose to work from the heart, but the actual work done comes from the life source itself. The point is that the Lord concerns himself with the expenditure of energy and choices made with the life. He is the real Master.

Whether that is encouraging someone I meet in an Uber or praying with a co-worker or sharing the resources God has blessed me with or giving someone a meal or teaching in Ghana…list goes on, my job is to steward well what God has given me for His glory.

When we steward well, Jesus is made known.