If you've read any of my blogs, articles, or books, you know that I'm a big advocate of stewardship. Stewardship is a rarely talked about subject in sermons. When it is discussed, it is always addressed from the perspective of money.

I think that stewardship is one of the essential tools of Christian Living. It helps to answer a lot of life's questions and guide us down the road to peace. Like grace & mercy or joy & peace, stewardship & wisdom form a godly partnership as well. It isn't easy to have one without the other.

Stewardship is the act of being a steward (don't you hate it when things are defined by their root word). Here's the dictionary.com definition of steward:

We are stewards of God's property! What is God's property?

The church often tells us that good stewardship is tithing to the church. Giving our offerings to the church is part of it; however, stewardship is much broader than just money.

SEE MY ARTICLE: Christian Giving

We are also stewards of our time, our family, and our children. Everything we possess, good, bad, or indifferent, is on loan from God. Someday, we will be required to give an account to God of how we have handled his property.

This "giving account of our management" will not affect our salvation; Jesus is and always will be our salvation. This accountability will determine our heavenly rank and our heavenly reward.

I'm not suggesting a "gimme-gimme" plan. I am offering this:

 

As Christians, we just don't understand money at all. This lack of understanding is provocative because Jesus talked a great deal about money. Additionally, the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are predominately instruction manuals for handling money and for doing business with each other. Even the Mosaic Law contains many foundation principles for the excellent management of money, resources, and people. With the help and directives at our disposal,

We have access to God's design for money management and business operations through the scriptures. Unfortunately, this type of monetary success is rarely seen in the Christian community. This financial ignorance is partially due to our misconceptions about money and our lack of training about money.

 

I'm not talking about the prosperity gospel here! I am talking about being good stewards of God's gifts and resources. There is nothing in the Bible that indicates that God wants you to be wealthy! However, there is plenty to suggest that God will hold us accountable for not taking care of and increasing what we have been given, whether a little or a lot.

 

As I previously mentioned, most of us think of stewardship as giving God 10% of our income. We understand this to be good money management. God promises us that if we do this, he will bless us immensely.

I call this the "Law of the Tithe." It transcends the Covenants - both Old and New. When God designed the universe, he created it with Laws: the law of gravity, the laws of motion, thermodynamics, etc. The law of sowing and reaping is also one of those laws. These laws apply equally to both the sinners and the righteous, to both believers and unbelievers as many of God's blessings do.

The Law of the Tithe belongs in this category as well. How do I know that? I know that because I know many people in business who are not Christians but still tithe religiously. They have highly profitable businesses and have experienced tremendous success. Most of them are Jewish, but I know business people who are neither Jew nor Christian who follow and are blessed by following the Law of the Tithe.

Here's the problem with the 10% idea: While 10% (or another amount) of our income goes to the church, we think the remainder belongs to us. In reality, the rest belongs to God as well. God has entrusted us with 100% of the money. It's all his! Stewardship means that we are just as responsible with the 90% as we are with the 10%.

This understanding of our stewardship responsibilities translates into managing and using our money wisely. As Christians, we should be saving and investing, being responsible with God's money. We should not be up to our eyeballs in debt nor too stingy to be generous with the resources God has given us.

Christians are the salt and light of the world. We are the "flavor of life." We need to manage our lives so that we can be this to others.

 

Our resources are our things, our stuff! Our bodies, cars, houses, clothes, food, jobs, marriage, family, friends, skills, talents, etc., These are all things given to us by God. These things are God's wealth that he has entrusted to us!

To be a good manager of this wealth, we need to nurture and care for these things as if we are caring for God's possessions because we are! Sometimes we need or want more:

• Why should God increase our income when we are lazy and sloppy at our current position?
• Why should God give us a better house when we don't take care of the house we have?
• Why should God bless us in any way when all we do is complain?
• How can God bless our children if we don't put effort into teaching and training them?
• How can God bless our marriage when we ignore our spouse?

Do you see where I'm going with this?

 

Yes, as Christians, we take care of God's property. We do things like:

• Change the oil in our cars.
• Clean the house.
• Take our wife out to dinner.
• Wash the dishes.
• Put money into a savings account.
• Invest money
• Keep low or no balances on our credit cards
• Teach and inspire our children

 

Perhaps the most egregious infraction of our stewardship principles is wasting our time, gifts, and talents. God has a plan for each of us. To accomplish his desires for us, he has endowed each one of us with time, gifts, and talents. When we waste these things, we ignore the path God desires for us - we ignore the things we were meant to do!

We spend hours and hours watching TV, playing video games, and surfing the Internet. It's easy to waste 7-10 hours a day on these things. What a complete waste! We remain in our comfort zone, which requires minimal effort on our part to keep it going.

There is nothing wrong with relaxation or participating in mindless boggles. Many studies have shown that this is necessary for healthy living and emotional well-being. However, when leisure and entertainment become the primary time consumers of our lives, we have a problem. The problem is spiritual, but it is also emotional and will likely turn into a physical problem.

What could you have become had you utilized those hours to improve yourself? Where would you and your family be today if you had not wasted those hours? Where would God have taken you had you stepped outside of your comfort zone?

 

We use excuses and apologies to justify our useless behaviors.

• I don't have the money to do this right now.
• My back hurts.
• I lack the education needed to do this
• I can't pass a criminal background check
• My credit is lousy.
• My husband would never support me in this endeavor.
• I don't have the right circle of friends
• I don't live in the right area
• It's too far, too long, or too hard, too high, or too low.
• I'm too old, too young, too fat, or too skinny.

...shall I continue?

Our God is an impossible God, able to do impossible things. Do you really think there is any condition that he cannot overcome? Do you believe that he has given you a purpose without giving you the means to accomplish that purpose? Do you think that God has given you time, gifts, and talents so that you could waste them on useless endeavors?

 

We settle. We compromise. We take the easy job. We take the easy path. Is that what God wants for us?

God endowed us with gifts and talents. He blessed us with resources. Do you think he expects us to be mediocre?

Is there any obstacle God cannot conquer? Is there any project he cannot fund? Is there any resource he cannot provide?

Why do we wallow in our misery and incompetence when we have such a valiant and powerful advocate on our behalf?

Step out! Step outside of your comfort zone. It's God's will for us to be good stewards of our time, gifts, and resources. Don't waste them!

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