His Stewards
I would venture to say that many people are scared of
responsibility. We especially avoid responsibility of others. We would gladly
take credit if our stewardship of another person was successful, but if it
fails we look to blame it on anything but ourselves. So, proper management of
people, places and things takes a serious hit. Early on in the Genesis account
we read about Cain sassing back to God about his brother Abel, declaring –
"I
don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:9)
However, humanity and especially Christians should be stewards
of each other. Stewardship requires an Owner that has delegated authority,
oversight, protection and management obligations of something or someone.
God owns everything. When God created the human being, the man
was alone in kind of creatures. God
walked with Adam and spoke with him. Through Adam, stewardship of Eden and
Earth with its animals and his naming them thereof was his honored duty before
The Fall. An ordained gardener/zookeeper if you will, but it was not the same
as having a similar partner/friend, so God created Eve out from Adam to be
Adam's help mate, his fellow steward (Genesis 2:18-25).
However, The Curse of Sin was injected into humanity and
creation by the disobedience of Adam and Eve therefore creating the consequence,
delivered by God, of the uncooperativeness of the land. Gardening and zoo-keeping
chores now become more difficult – the land will be resistant to humanity’s
stewarding efforts.
Fast forward to when Jesus was hanging on The Cross and He
spells out a relationship of stewardship between two people right there -
"When Jesus saw his mother there, and the
disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, 'Woman, here is your
son,' and to the disciple, 'Here is your mother.' From that time on, this
disciple took her into his home." (John 19:25-29)
In Galatians 6:10, Paul admonishes the whole body of
believers to the stewardship of others by “doing good to all people”
while managing, preserving and protecting the relationships of especially those
in The Kingdom of Christ. The full verse reads –
"Therefore, as we have
opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to
the family of believers."
In Ephesians 5:21-33, Paul describes the mutual
love and respect a marriage should hold.
With the stewardship of each other so plainly laid out for
Christians in Scripture, there is yet one more person believers should not
neglect - The Lord, Himself.
I am guilty of focusing so much attention on Christian and
non-Christian relationships in my life that I miss out on cultivating the most
important relationship of all - mine and The Lord's.
God established or founded the relationship through Jesus and
His love-gift of His life, death and resurrection. I have done the first part
in accepting His Lordship and friendship in my life.
However, the cultivating of a relationship is not just a one
way street or affair. I must put forth the effort and desire to mature my
relationship with Christ. His direction for my life is sound and I desire to
follow and obey, but my relationship with God should always come before anybody
and anything.
Notice I said before anybody and anything. This means Christ
is First in my mind, day, speech, decisions and actions. I do not overlook and
become thoughtless toward those around me. No. But because I place Christ
first, the relationships around me grow stronger, deeper and I become a better
steward of them.
Now, since the saving grace of Christ Jesus – through His
life, death, resurrection and ascension and sending of His Holy Spirit –
Christians are charged to develop that lifestyle of Godly stewardship once
more.
How does a Godly steward behave? Faithfully. 1 Corinthians 4:2 says - "Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man [or woman] be found faithful."
Are you considering another job? If you are or are considering service in any capacity, then I encourage you to have a well-established track record of faithfulness. In fact, whatever your passion is - faithfulness to that person, place, thing or idea will display your dedication to whatever or whomever.
Being entrusted to manage your work within the corporation you service by a CEO
and his/her staff is a great responsibility. That trust is especially awesome
in God's Kingdom Business where believers - study, keep and teach His Word.
Therefore this authority of His Stewardship comes with knowing the rules and
parameters of God's organization.
The word "steward" in the original Greek is oikonomos. This word means court officials or palace officials in the
Old Testament. The application for these officials is to fulfill their requirement or duty by honoring the law of the
land in private and public life. As Christians, stewardship in any position
needs to be portrayed as following the commands, instructions and lifestyle
example given by Christ.
Notice in the last verse that the word “required” could be rendered as needed or
demanded - "it is required in
stewards".
However, in this verse, the original Greek word for "required", zeteo, means a thorough,
investigative search. God has to search for this quality, this vital trait in
our lives and in His service.
The context of this verse is God conducting a thorough search for
administrators in His House. The very weighty last two words of the verse
- "found
faithful" is how God desires to find a believer when His search has
concluded.
The original word for "found" in the Greek is eurisko, meaning to find or discover. Remember 2 Chronicles
16:9? This Scripture also speaks to God searching for those who would be
consistently dedicated to Him and rewarding them. The verse reads - "For the
eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts
are fully committed to him."
The original Greek word for "faithful", pistos, means a person who is trustworthy, reliable, dependable and faithful.
Once again, I emphasize this fruit of the spirit, this much needed
characteristic is sought after by God. Mr. Rick Renner concurs by saying,
"This
means that the people who possess the necessary qualities that God wants in
order to use them are not abundant in the Christian community. Faithful,
trustworthy, reliable, dependable, true and unfailing people are so rare that
God must thoroughly and exhaustively search to find them. But once He finds
through observation that a particular believer is committed to do His will and
to do it with excellence, God has made a valuable discovery. He has found a
faithful person He can depend on to lead and carry out a new and important
assignment." (p.82, Sparkling Gems From the Greek 2, Renner)
This charge to be faithful in God's Household becomes heavier with a demand for
purposeful actions on the Christian’s part. Mr. Renner elaborates by stating
-
"If
you were an employer, before you promoted someone into a position of great
authority, wouldn't you watch that person first to see if he or she would be
found faithful? Since this is true of humans when they look for someone to
oversee short-lived, temporal responsibilities, how much more is this true of
God, who entrust people with matters that impact people's lives for all
eternity? There is nothing more serious than eternal business. That's why before
God promotes someone over greater spiritual matters, He watches to see if they
are found faithful." (pages 81-82, Sparkling Gems From the
Greek 2, Renner)
When God executes His inquiry into your life as a Christian, how do you sense
you measure up to the requirements of that position in God's House?
If you find yourself on the positive side when you answer, how
are you manifesting your reliability as a Godly Steward? Luke records Jesus
strongly encouraging the “manager” or
steward in life to be found working when He returns. Luke
12:42-44 states -
“Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom
the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at
the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the master finds
doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of
all his possessions.”
These characteristics, vital traits in God's service will go a
long way in supporting why Jesus would say to the Godly steward in the end –
"‘Well done, good and faithful servant!
You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many
things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’" (Matthew 25:21)
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