Christian stewardship is managing everything that God brings into a believer's life in a way that honors God and impacts eternity. Stewardship is about making best use of what God has kept in our care - our time, our abilities, our relationships and wealth.
Ps 24:1 says” The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." God owns everything, which include our lives and all things we own while we live. Each believer is an active member in the body of Christ and every one of us is given, a unique set of resources, talents and gifts, depending on our role in the body of Christ. God expects us to use it wisely and effectively for carrying out His will in our society and the world in our time.
It is useful to quote John Wesley here, who said, “When a man becomes a Christian, he becomes industrious, trustworthy and prosperous. Now, if that man when he gets all he can and saves all he can, does not give all he can, I have more hope for Judas Iscariot than for that man!”
Christian Stewardship starts with an understanding of who we are in Him and being grateful for that. Christian Stewardship would help us to see others in God’s perspective. The world asks, "What does a man own?" but Christ would ask, "How does he use it?" Christian Stewardship is about how well we use what we have.
The “Parable of the Talents”, mentioned in Matthew 25:14–30 suggest that
The master determined the amount each steward was to manage.
The master expected each steward to be faithful with his wealth.
Each steward is called to account by the master for his stewardship.
The faithful ones are rewarded while unfaithful ones are punished.
We are responsible and accountable for whatever gift, talents and opportunities, given to us. The best compliment that we can receive from our Lord is “Well done, good and faithful servant!” Our stewardship has the potential to influence and impact lives constructively. May God enable us to be good stewards.
