Being a Steward

1 Corinthians 4:1-2

“Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.

Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”

As Christians, God calls us stewards. But what exactly is a steward? What is expected of a steward?

A steward is someone in charge of someone else’s possessions, entrusted by his master to oversee and maintain. A great amount of trust is placed on them, and as 1 Corinthians says, it required that they are faithful. A steward must be honest and loyal. The master shouldn’t have to check up on a steward every day to make sure he is doing what he should.

The first mention of a steward is in Genesis 15:2.

“And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?”

A few chapters later, Abraham sends his head servant, or steward, to find a wife for Isaac. Such an act shows he placed great faith in his steward. Abraham basically put his own son’s future in Eliezer’s hands.

And how did this steward respond? He set out right away, praying earnestly to God to bring the right woman along. He did not question Abraham, nor argue. He obeyed without hesitation, and God blessed his journey and mission.

The second steward mentioned in the Bible is Joseph’s. Once again, you see unquestioning and immediate obedience. He carries out the strangest tasks for Joseph, from returning Joseph’s brother’s money into their sacks, to accusing them from stealing the cup he himself hid in Benjamin’s sack. Not once do you see him resist Joseph’s commands, but blindly follow. God used his obedience to help humble Joseph’s brothers, and restore their fellowship.

Both of these stewards were extremely trustworthy, not only in taking care of their master’s possessions, but in carrying out their every command without question.

How does did relate to us? Well, we are stewards for God. God owns this earth, and everything in it. As His children, He has called us to be the caretakers of his creation. And God expects us to be faithful in our stewardship.

Luke 12:48 states that “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required:”

It is our responsibility to take care of everything God has entrusted to us, no matter what it is. I think of the parable that Jesus told, where the master went on a journey and gave one servant five talents, another two, and another one. When he returned, the first two servants had doubled their talents, while the third with only one talent hid it. The master took that one talent and gave it away to the one that he trusted the most.

How does this apply this to our lives? Well, what has God given you? How are you taking care of it? Maybe what you have does not seem important. We neglect what God has given us under the excuse that it isn’t that important, that it is just a little thing. But if you cannot be trusted with the little things, how can you be trusted with the bigger things?

Most young people like me all have some “big thing” we want: a car, a house, a spouse, whatever it may be. And in our prayers and desires for them, we tend to promise ourselves and God that if we can just get them, we’ll take care of them. But will we really? I’m sure most of us can think back to our childhoods to some toy we so dearly wanted. How we begged our parents for it. I remember many times my parents telling me when they got me something, “Now, you’re going to take care of this, aren’t you?” How I would agree in excitement. And maybe for the first week or month I was very careful with it. But then as time went on, I neglected it, treated it rougher, left it out to be tripped or stepped on. I failed in the stewardship of the item. And I can remember times when that lack of stewardship prevented me from getting what I wanted, as my parents recalled what happened to the last item they gave me.

If we cannot prove ourselves faithful in what we have now, why would God give us something better? We want a car, but the tools we currently have are scattered around the house rusting. We want a house, but the rooms we currently live in are a mess. We want a spouse, but we neglect the family and friends God has already given us. We waste our money on trivial things. We use every free moment to watch movies or play video games. We only do enough in our jobs to get by. So often in my workplace, I’ve seen the mentality of “this is just Walmart, nothing I do here really matters.” And maybe there is an element of truth within the statement. This isn’t some super-important job. We aren’t saving lives or anything, just stocking items on a shelf or packing people’s groceries. But how do we expect to get a better job in life if we can’t even show ourselves faithful in the little one we have? If you were an employer, would you hire someone who failed in their simple job at grocery store? I wouldn’t. Which proves the little things DO matter.

What about non-physical items, like our testimony? As children of God, we are called to be a light to the world. Are you only a light when you are around other Christians? Do you act differently when no one you know is around? Eyes are always watching, and it is important that we act with a sober mind no matter what we’re doing or where we are.

Our time is just as important. God gives us 24 hours a day. How much of that is spent sleeping? How much is spent watching movies? How much is spent reading the Bible or praying? If you made a pie chart comprised of each activity you participated in during the day, what would the biggest slices be? Are we using our time as wisely as we could be. Our life is but a vapor, as the book of James states. It seems like only yesterday I moved to Missouri, yet almost eight years have gone by. What have I done in those eight years for God? Not as much as I should have, that’s for sure.

So to boil it all down, what are we doing with our lives, and what God has placed in them? Are we being stewards with what we have? Or do we neglect our current possessions, viewing them as unimportant in light of what we really want? We ask for more, and there isn’t necessarily anything wrong with that. We all have desires in our heart, many of which are probably God-given. But have we proved ourselves to be trustworthy? When we ask for more, can we honestly tell Him we have been faithful with what He has already given us?