Defining Biblical Stewardship

Introduction

What would you do with 27 million dollars?

Five years after Kentucky resident David Lee Edwards won a $27 million jackpot he was penniless and living in a storage shed with his wife. The couple squandered the fortune on the common goodies that sink so many lucky winners. They bought dozens of high-end cars, mansions and a plane.

They blew through $3 million in the first three months. By the end of the first year, $12 million was in the wind. By 2006, the couple had spiraled into drug addiction, and just 12 years after the win changed the course of his life, David Lee Edwards died alone and broke in hospice care at the age of 58. (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/23-lottery-winners-lost-millions-193539538.html)

Surely, this is a sad story. And there are many things we could draw from it. I would say that this story tells us what a failure to steward what has been given and a self-centered desire can accomplish

So then, what is stewardship? Managing what I have been given faithfully. I find this sentence to best define biblical stewardship… ‘What I have been given, I am to manage, in a faithful manner.’

Given (Genesis 2:15)

Seeing stewardship in light of having all things being given by Another clears the lens that sin seeks to fog and distort

The primary means to understanding biblical stewardship is that we don’t own anything. Job 1:21 “And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away. Blessed be the name of Yahweh.” 1 Timothy 6:7 “For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.”

Stewardship being given by God begins in the Creation account. Yahweh God creates man, breathes life into him, and gives him a task. The task generally speaking is to steward where God has placed him

God gives man the task of cultivating the ground and naming the animals before man speaks. The man speaks upon the beauty of woman after he is given his task in the garden (Genesis 2:23)

In our age, it seems that stewardship is directly tied to a person’s finances. How do I use money well? Yet, stewardship is not only in the financial realm, it includes time and talents as well

God has given you everything you possess. Even the heir to the throne of England who is bequeathed with financial excess is still given that excess, ultimately, by the Creator of the universe. Consider Ecclesiastes 2:24 “There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and have his soul see good in his labor. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God.” Yet this, too, must be in its proper context for the next verse says “For who can eat and who can have enjoyment outside of Him?”

The do not worry texts of Matthew 6:25-34 and Luke 12:22-34 are rooted in this simple truth: God gives, I steward

Even the very life of man is given by God (Genesis 2:15). Man is given all things as a steward, even his very life

Manage (Genesis 41:46-49, 56-57, 1 Kings 5:7-18)

Steward can also mean to manage. A steward is one who manages what is in his care. A good steward does so well, and a bad steward does so poorly

Joseph before the great world famine in Genesis 41 is the chief example of OT stewardship

He was not entrusted with a small amount, but all the food offered in the seven years of plenty which amounted to 1/5th of the total food amount (Genesis 41:35-36). Note that Joseph did not grow or gather all this food all by himself. God provided him with all the help he needed to ensure that man would continue to persevere. ‘When God’s will is being accomplished He will provide everything that is needed to ensure its perpetuity (or continuation)’

Through Joseph’s stewarding efforts he saved the entire world (Genesis 41:56-57)

Stewards are seen throughout the OT (Adam- the garden, Noah- the animals and food for them and his family, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob- their livestock and possessions, Joseph- during the famine, Moses- throughout the 40 years in the wilderness, Joshua- getting to the promised land with all things accounted for, faithful kings of Judah, David- with massive armies and a large kingdom, Solomon- the supplies needed for the temple of Yahweh, Nehemiah- the building of the walls in Jerusalem, Job- his possessions, and the prophets- with the call of God upon their lives)

Solomon was not just the wisest man who ever lived (this Yahweh gave- 1 Kings 5:12), but he was a brilliant steward. 1 Kings 5:13-18 and 2 Chronicles 2:17-18 list what was gathered by the laborers for the temple of Yahweh. Solomon’s stewardship had an influence on others like Hiram after the two cut a covenant. “Hiram responds with joy. He does not acknowledge Solomon’s God as his own, but praises the “god” of Israel who has led Solomon.” (Gerard Van Groningen)

The question we all must ask is this… Do I manage what God has given to the glory of His name?

Faithfully (Deuteronomy 18:9-14, Judges 2:11-15)

An easy answer to the preceding question is seeing your stewarding efforts carried out in a faithful manner

This was the direction of Yahweh to the Israelites through Moses as they prepared to enter the promised land under Joshua. A means of stewarding the land is by keeping things pure. In the case of Israel, and for us today, we keep our places pure and steward well when we follow the commands of Yahweh. Do we consider with joy the commandments of Yahweh as the Psalmist does in Psalm 119:137–138 “Righteous are You, O Yahweh, And upright are Your judgments. In righteousness, You have commanded Your testimonies And in exceeding faithfulness.” We steward faithfully because God is exceedingly faithful to us

Behold a warning! When stewardship is neglected, idolatry and wickedness lie in wait to take its place (Malachi 3:7-15)

Yahweh God gave the children of Israel the promised land and they failed to steward it well when they permitted idolatry to abound. O, if Israel would have followed Deuteronomy 18:9-14 how much grief, sorrow, and pain they would have been spared!

In our modern context, God has given us homes to live in. So, how about this question… ‘God has given me a house, is there any idolatry found in that house?’

Joshua 7 contains the account of Achan coveting the Jericho spoil and Israel enacting judgment upon him and his house. Joshua 8 tells of Israel’s victory over Ai. They were faithful after the destruction of Jericho by not hoarding any of the spoil. As stewards, we are not called to hoard, but to manage what He has entrusted to us faithfully

Judges 2:11-15 is the result of Israel not heeding the command of Yahweh found in Deuteronomy 18. The first sin of Israel was bowing down to other gods. In fact, the entire book of Judges is an extension of the garden of Eden. God gives a command, man breaks it. God gives man all that he needs, man spurns His blessing. God promises rest, joy, and happiness. Man spits in His face

Again, stewardship is not financial only, but, generally, it is an act of obedience

Stewardship is to be done one way, in faithfulness. God did not create you and me for robotic faith-filled worship. No! He created us to steward all things faithfully throughout all our days. Consider this, God’s calling upon you to steward the gospel. Do you steward the gospel faithfully?

How do you manage the gospel faithfully that you have been given? By doing with it what God has said, share it with others, believe in it putting all your trust in it, following it as a workman of Christ, rejoicing in it, and waiting upon its completion in Jesus’ second coming

Conclusion

Not every lottery winner loses all their fortune. Several winners have invested well, paid off debt, saved for retirement, etc. Not one out of the winners was said to have “stewarded their winnings to the glory of God.” This is a sad reality in our self-centered culture

How do we steward to the glory of God in this evil day?

Living as though God has given us all we have because He has

Not white-knuckling the things we have been given, but living loosely knowing God could call us home any day

Thanking God for what He has chosen to bestow us with

Managing possessions in accordance to the will of God

Having faithfulness, not status as the defining feature of our lives

Trusting God when He has given you “just enough”

Remaining faithful to God when you are in a season of lack

Ultimately, we must live with heaven in mind. Earth is a temporal dwelling place for Christian sojourners

These things won’t necessarily make it “easier” to steward, but it will ensure that we fulfill our God-given duty to steward

Benediction — 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17