How To Take The “Stew” Out of Stewardship

A West Virginia man hit the jackpot!  He won more than 225 million dollars.  Since then he and his wife have separated.  He is estranged from his wife.  This man said, “This is the worst thing that has ever happened to me.”Wealth, possessions, etc., can be the worst thing that happens to people.  When Howard Hughes, the eccentric billionaire died, he was basically all alone, living in squalor.  His fingernails and toenails were so long they looked animalistic.Christians have challenges with money as well.  We live in a culture where the average American household spends 122 percent of the annual income of the family.  A fifty-year-old male has, on average, a 27-year mortgage on his home.

Stewardship is often considered to be a dirty word.  It is like some four-letter term we should not discuss in church life.  I call this perception the “stew” in stewardship.  We must take the “stew” out of stewardship so that Christians understand the biblical nature of true stewardship.

A biblical understanding of stewardship gives definition and direction to our lives.  You and I can take the “stew” out of stewardship by understanding what the Bible teaches about the subject.  What are these basic biblical teachings?  What does the Bible say about being a faithful steward of our financial resources?

You have been given these resources as a mater of trust.  God is making you a trustee over His gifts to you.  I Corinthians 4:1-5 remind us that we are stewards who are to be found faithful.

How do you and I view the world?  Our Christian worldview should include the financial resources we have as believers.

What do we really value in life?  Are things of the world more important to us than the things of the Lord?

Vocation means calling.  Christians are called to be servant leaders in this world.

“A rich person is not the one who has the most but one who needs the least.”