Bible Discussion Thread

what is stewardship

I will quote some verses but am too lazy to look them up. Christ told some that how could he trust them with heavenly treasure if they weren't faithful with heavenly treasure (probably the parable of the talents). We are given in this lifetime "unrighteous mammon" and in some sense are to work with others in this world but not be of it to demonstrate using our resources faithfully. There certainly can be more than money involved such as time and a person's spiritual giftings. There is a warning verse in Revelation not to "lose our reward" so at the very least there are eternal positions of authority of rewards at stake. Another verse in the gospels explains that God will give "authority over many or few cities" depending on our stewardship now. In some sense as we are said for our "reasonable service" we are to be living sacrifices with our bodies as the Temple of the Holy Spirit this shows good stewardship in buffeting our bodies. All good gifts come from above; therefore we need to be proactive in performing "good works given to us to do from before the foundation of the world". There is also danger that an unregenerate soul such as Judas Iscariot the "son of perdition" a type of Antichrist himself may be allowed for a time to take advantage of the "filthy lucre" as so many TV evangelists today typify. It is the love of money at the root of all evil; not money itself. Money is a means to an end; either leading to selfishness falling for Satan's lies (which Christ clearly rejected as He was the only one who could be given a temptation of sharing the authority of the whole world that Satan was given); or for the sake of the gospel; missionary work and building up of the local church through faithful giving. We should be careful in that regard to "not let our right hand know what our left hand is doing"-to proclaim our "acts of righteousness" or promote our ministry unnecessarily is not good. We are all unworthy servants doing what we are told.

A stewardship is like what we call today a manger they were a steward who is appointed to oversee something of a king or his master like their treasury or goods or servants.

A person put over someone elses property, affairs, upkeep etc. Trusted with but belonging to another. Here are biblical examples. Genesis 1:26-30, Romans 14:12, In the Church: Hebrews 13:17, Titus 1:7,

Genesis 15:2, Gen 43:19,

Luke 16:1-15, Matthew 20:1-16, Luke 12:36-48,

Prophetic parable about Jesus & the religious Rulers of the time: Matthew 21:28-46, Luke 20:9-20, 'husbandman being "stewad" of the vineyard'

Hopefully these are helpful.

Hello Sean. Stewardship can be defined as special position assigned to a person, to act on behalf of another in managing various matters pertaining to a Business, Church, in the Home, etc. The person so appointed could be given responsibility over the financial, property, or workers of that institution, or responsibility in the Church or the home.

In Luke chapter 16 which you cited, the "rich man", probably a business owner, in the parable, had a steward to oversee his financial & material interests. When re-payment time came, the owner's debtors were not able to pay & the debt continued to stand probably for a long while. So when questioned by the owner, the steward took it upon himself to reduce the payment so that the debtors could pay, be free of debt & the owner satisfied. So as to not lose his position with his boss, he did what he did & fortunately his boss accepted the steward's ingenuity (though I'm not sure that would work today). But the point was that even if his boss sacked him, the wisdom of the steward is seen in the event that those debtors he helped might then give him a job, seeing that he was merciful to them. For this he was commended, even though the owner still had a shortfall.

And when we think of being 'a good steward' in terms of our faith, we would demonstrate wise use of all that the Lord gives to us, whether in finance, goods, even His enabling us to serve Him in the Church & community. Everything we have in our possession or own comes from the Lord, and He expects us to be wise stewards & if we are trustworthy, He will entrust even more to us.