What is Biblical Stewardship?
Steward. Stewarding. Stewardship. These words get thrown around quite often within the Christian community and the Church in general. Personally, I know I use these words abundantly. But as Christians, I think it’s important that we actually know what they mean.
Defined
In short, a steward (n) is a person that manages or looks after the property of someone else.
Stewarding (v) is the act of managing the property of someone else.
Stewardship (n) is the actual role of managing the property of someone else.
In Action
A couple things come to mind when I hear a variation of the word “steward”.
Bear with me while I nerd out for just a minute. But when I hear steward I can’t help but to think of the Lord of the Rings. There are a few illustrations within LOTR where the role of stewardship presents itself.
The first example is of Denethor, Boromir’s father, being the steward of Gondor. He was a steward of the throne. He wasn’t the actual king (the king could only descend from the royal line of Isildur) but had the responsibility for ruling over the country until the king resumed their rightful place.
Also, Frodo was a steward of the ring. At the Council of Elrond, it was determined that Frodo would be allowed to be the ring bearer on the journey to destroy it. He was a steward of the ring.
Neither belonged to them but they both were responsible for the care of what they were entrusted.
How about a real life example?
I’m actually a steward over my client’s money within their investment accounts. The money doesn’t belong to me but I have the responsibility to manage and look after their accounts.
You’re a steward whenever you borrow something from a friend that isn’t yours.
One sign that indicates a steward is that they typically have to give an account, to the owner, of what they’ve been managing.
The Truth
Great, so we’ve taken in a few examples but how does it relate to us as Christians?
Nothing that we have belongs to us. Nothing. Belongs. To. Us. If this is the first time you’re hearing this then it may sound a bit harsh. And it’s as every bit harsh as it sounds. The sooner you realize this the better off you’ll be, I can promise you that.
We see in the scripture below that everything belongs to the Lord.
"Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all."
“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.”
"Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it."
"Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine."
If we believe that the Word of God is inerrant then this HAS to lead us to believe that we’re stewards. You have a stewardship role over what God has entrusted to you. And although you don’t have a throne, or a magical ring, to steward you have so much more.
More Than Just Money
You see most Christians immediately think of stewarding money and wealth. While these do fall into the category, they aren’t the only things that we manage. Consequently, it’s dangerous to believe those are the only things that we are in charge of caring for.
If we dive a little deeper we see that we’ve also been given intangible things to care for such as time, opportunities, skills & expertise, relationships, influence, and more. These gifts are just as important as the money and wealth that we manage in that they can yield large results for the Kingdom when managed well.
I want to be very clear, literally anything and everything you have at your disposal you’re stewarding on behalf of God. Everyone is managing different gifts, abilities, opportunities, and resources. And God has given to each according to their own ability and each will have to give an account.
In order for us to begin a journey of honorable stewardship we have to believe that we’re stewards, and in order to believe we have to know what God’s Word has to say. Know. Believe. Do.
What are you stewarding on behalf of God?
