What We Steward

Wednesday - October 6th

Scripture to Read Today: Matthew 6:28-34

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Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,

and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:33

Stewardship is defined by Ron Blue, author of Master Your Money, as the "use of God-given resources for the accomplishment of God-given goals."

When we talk about stewardship in the Christian context, we mean that God is the owner of everything. These resources would include everything that He has given us. Our salvation, the gospel message, our church, our education, our time, our energy, our thought life, the words we speak, the home we live in, the cars we drive, our children, our spouse, our finances, and our job are all examples of this stewardship. We have everything we need. It's all His. He has entrusted it to us for a specific reason.

What exactly is the goal? After telling us not to chase after the things the world chases after, Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33 that we should seek first His kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be added to us. To put it another way, the reason God has entrusted us with what He owns is so that we might be busy advancing His kingdom.

Stewardship clearly includes sharing the Gospel, but it also includes living out the Gospel by caring for "the least of theses." Jesus states in Matthew 25 that helping those who have nothing is the same as helping Him.

At its core, stewardship also refers to how we use our time. As Americans, we tend to get bored easily. We can waste time on trivial things. Many people in the developing world work from sun up to sundown. They get little leisure time. In the U.S., we often have more time than we know what to do with. Many of us could invest more of our time in causes that support the spreading of Christ's Kingdom.

When we consider the natural abilities and spiritual gifts God has given us, we have much to leverage for Christ and His Kingdom. Our experiences, education, talents, and skills all become what we steward for the Lord's glory and the good of others. Some summarize it simply as a stewardship of our time, our talents, and our treasures. Everything we have is the Lord's. Whatever we have, we manage for Him!

Everything we have is from God and everything we have we steward for Him.