Act Like a Man: 9 Ways to Punch Life in the MouthSample

Steward: Build His Kingdom

What is a steward? This is the Christian’s view of life, possessions, and wealth. It’s two things: Number one, God is the owner. Number two, I am the manager.

In Haggai 2:8, God says, “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts,” meaning everything belongs to God. He made the heavens and the earth, mankind, everyone, and everything. Ultimately, as Creator, God is also the owner. That makes mankind the manager.

1 Peter 4:10 says, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace…” Here, Peter is saying to use whatever gift – that could be financial, spiritual, talent, ability, inheritance, estate, portfolio, resources – you have received to serve others as faithful stewards. A steward says, “Everything is owned by God and managed by me. Whatever I have is a gift.”

As Christians, we have to start with the assumption that everything belongs to God and is entrusted to us. We need to ask Him what He wants us to do with His wealth. The goal is to invest in His Kingdom. Most men think they’re the owner and the manager and try to build their own kingdom rather than God’s Kingdom. This is a fatal flaw for men. My hope, prayer, and goal is for you to see God as the owner and yourself as the manager. We’re asking the owner how He wants us to manage His resources to better invest in His Kingdom, not just build our little kingdom that competes with His.

As a man and as a steward, you have to pray, plan, and pivot. A couple of years ago, I taught through the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah is a classic case of a world-class leader. Does he pray? He keeps praying, nine times throughout the book. Does he plan? He’s got legal plans, financial plans, security plans, building plans, HR plans, church plans, and plans for plans. He prays a lot and plans a lot. But does he ever pivot? Yes.

There are two kinds of leaders: process leaders and pivot leaders. For process leaders, once the plan is made, they don’t deviate because change is hard. Pivot leaders know that, occasionally, even if you pray and plan, things will happen, and you’ll have to pivot.

Nehemiah was building a wall, and enemies showed up threatening murder. Now, he had to pivot and get security. Next, they wrongly accused him of committing treason, so he had to pivot and fire up a public relations department to refute the lie.

As a man, one of the most important things is to take time to hear from God. You can’t tell others what they’re supposed to do until God has told you what you’re supposed to do. Pray and make your plan, budget, and schedule, then pivot as things come up. Process leaders often get frustrated and have difficulty pivoting; pivot leaders need not use their flexibility as an excuse to not have any plans. You need both to be effective.

Where are you a strong steward? (e.g., time, money, wisdom, abilities, relationships, etc.) Where are you a weak steward? (e.g., time, money, wisdom, abilities, relationships, etc.)