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The Myth of Stewardship

Before my wife and I faced the possibility of bankruptcy a second time I thought we fully understood stewardship. But as the years have gone by since that pivotal night, I have come to realize that we really didn’t understand stewardship from God’s point of view.

To understand what biblical stewardship really is, we need to go to the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30.

In this parable, Jesus says that the Kingdom of heaven is like a man who goes on a journey and entrusts his possessions to his servants. Christ wanted His disciples to understand that He, the Master, was going away and He was planning on entrusting them (and ultimately you and me) with Kingdom resources. And He wants us to invest them for the biggest possible return for Him.

You see, stewardship is not about how much you save (notice how the Master responds to the servant who buried what was entrusted to him). Jesus defines stewardship differently.

Jesus defines stewardship as the wise and effective investment of all the resources the Master has entrusted to us in order to produce the best possible return for Him and for His kingdom.

When we understand that God owns it all and is looking to you to steward ALL of what He has given to you, it changes the way you look at how you use your money, time and resources.

• You want to get out of debt.
• You invest in taking your wife away for a romantic weekend to strengthen your marriage because you understand the priority God places on marriage.
• You work toward giving as much as you can to advance God’s kingdom work rather than growing your lifestyle at the expense of the Kingdom.
• You help the neighbor or family member in need.
• You invest in taking your family on an annual vacation to build vital relationships with your kids.

The list could go on. But I think you get the point. Stewardship involves a macro view of how you use your money, not just tipping God 10 percent. It is driven by seeing it all as God’s. Do you?