One day I was asked, “Have you ever heard of biblical stewardship?” At the time, I had no clue what the word stewardship even meant. I was a newer believer pursuing a career in non-profit development and fundraising, who loved to empower generosity and connect people’s passions and interests to meet greater needs. But then I dove into God’s Word, which is alive & active (Hebrews 4:12), and God spoke straight to my heart. It all began with Psalm 24:1-2.
“The Earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
for He founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters.” – Psalm 24:1-2
In that moment, my perspective shifted. All of a sudden, I realized God was not just Author, Maker, and Creator. God was Owner. God founded and established the world. Do you know that all is the Lord’s (literally everything!)? The Earth, all that lives in it, all who inhabit it. We, as His children, are not our own. We are His.
All of a sudden, I realized God was not just Author, Maker, and Creator. God was Owner.
This revelation brought me to my knees. I realized my identity as a steward.
A steward (noun) is a manager, someone chosen to hold onto something that belongs to someone else. When you steward (verb), you are managing or looking after another’s property or possession, something rightfully theirs. As a follower of Christ, a son or daughter of the most High God, you are God’s steward/manager here on Earth!
Can you truly fathom this? That out of His great love for us, God did not just decide to give us life, all we are, and all we have. God entrusted it to us on His behalf, and we are called to manage it for one purpose alone: To bear fruit & build His Kingdom, for His glory (Isaiah 43:7).
So what does God entrust us with?
- Time- He entrusts us with 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week (Genesis 1:14-16).
- Talents – According to the grace given to each of us, He entrusts us with spiritual gifts (1 Peter 4:10-11 & Romans 12:6). He also wired each of us with specific talents and passions to work and create.
- Treasures- God has much to say about our wealth and possessions. Did you know there are 2,350+ verses in God’s Word about this? God talks more in the Bible about stewarding our treasures than about heaven!
- Testimonies – God entrusts you with your story, your testimony of faith. He wants you to witness and share Him at work in your life (Revelation 12:11, John 15:26-27, 1 Peter 3:15, Acts 1:8), to make disciples of Jesus (Matthew 28:16-20).
God entrusts us with many other things too, including but not limited to our earthly bodies, a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). God also entrusts creation & the environment, all the Earth, to us (John 1:3, Psalm 104, Psalm 95:4-5).
Biblical stewardship is managing God’s blessings, in God’s way, for God’s glory. Commonly, stewardship is defined as managing God’s money biblically. While this is true, this is one piece of a much larger puzzle. Stewardship does not begin with managing our bank accounts or giving our tithes and offerings back to our King. Stewardship begins with understanding our identity as a steward.
One thing all Christians have in common is our identity as His steward. It does not matter your age, gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, church denomination, or geographic location. Each and every follower of Jesus is a steward, a manager, of all that God’s entrusted them.
I wholeheartedly believe God is calling upon a generation to live radically for Jesus as managers, bearing fruit and building His Kingdom, for His glory alone! The time to build an army of stewards in our churches is now. The future of the Church depends on it.
