What a Steward Does

One Sunday, during the offering, a little boy took off his tie and put it into the offering plate. “What are you doing?” His mother asked him. “I’m doing what the pastor said to do.” The little boy answered. “He told us to give our “ties” and offerings.”

Well, you made it. We have come to the end of our stewardship emphasis and made it all the way to commitment Sunday. I hope and pray that this time has been for you a blessing and that you have come to see stewardship in a new light.

We began by tweaking our understanding of stewardship and emphasizing that it is not about money or giving money. But instead that stewardship is a source of identity, it is a worldview, a way of life; ultimately, it is a relationship. Then we looked at what a steward is. We talked about how we are all stewards, and that as stewards we belong to our God, because he created and re-created us. We are managers and not owners, because the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. That we are at the very same time saint and sinner and that we are uniquely singular and profoundly plural in this awesome thing called the church.

Today we are going to wrap up our stewardship emphasis by talking about what it is that a steward does. We know what stewardship is. We know what a steward is. So it makes sense to talk about what a steward does, and that is four things. A steward lives, in the world, but not of the world. A steward loves, and is loved. A steward serves, and is served. A steward lives always in the present, but with an eye toward the future.

A steward lives in the world, but not of the world. This makes a lot of sense, especially as we consider that stewardship is ultimately about a relationship. We belong to our God. We are his. He created us. He purchased and redeemed us, not with gold or silver, but with his holy precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death. He sanctifies us and richly forgives us all our sins.

But God doesn’t make us his own so that we might live apart from the world. It is by the life changing power of the Gospel that we are actually sent back into the world to live out this good news that touches our lives and is indeed for the world. As we talk about what this means for us, it is that we develop the mind of Jesus, that our minds are transformed as we ready and study the scriptures, as we worship together and pray and serve and live the lives of stewardship.

As this happens there is a diminishing of the desire to focus on our selves, and for us to be number one, while, at the same time, there is a growing desire to live our lives so that we may be a blessing to others. Now I know that this can sound scary and threatening. After all, if I don’t look out for me, who will? Our relationship with Jesus gives us the security that we need so that we can trust him and live for him every day.

So we live our lives, not just for ourselves, but for our God and for our neighbors too. This means that the way we lives our lives is different from the rest of the world. We have a different set of values, and different set of priorities, a different goal, a different way of looking at things. We live our lives to the glory of our God and for the benefit of those people that God has placed into our lives.

By the way, while this does include service that is done in this congregation, it is not limited to that alone. This worldview would also compel us to spend time in service to our community and those who are in need there also. This also means that we are not to use the same kinds of “pressure tactics” or emphasis on the law, the bottom, line or whatever you want to call it. While the ends may justifies the means in the business world. That is not the way we operate here in the church. A steward is in the world, but not of the world.

A steward loves and is loved. So that as we talk about stewardship and living this lifestyle, we understand that it flows out of God’s love for us in Jesus. Again there is no room for guilt here. There is no room for fear, because perfect love drives out fear. So we embrace and live this life of stewardship empower by the love of Christ, and thus we are able to love others with a love that is Christ-like. In other words, we love because he first loved us.

When we love people in this way there is new hope, significance and meaning for life. When we believe that God loves sinners, well, then that is see in the actions and deeds that we do toward others. Do you remember what the two greatest commandments are in the scriptures? Love the Lord your God, and Love your neighbor. A steward loves and is loved.

A steward serves and is served. Jesus told his disciples that the greatest among them would be the one who serves. As the gospel impacts and empowers our lives, the result of this is a life of service. We do not live as servants because we are forced to, or because it is required of us, but instead we live this life because our savior is one who serves us. Again this is not a guilt motivation kind of thing. It is really a logical conclusion. We have been loved and serve, therefore when we go out, because this is the example that has been set for us, that is what we are going to do for our congregation, for our community, and world. And so we challenge and encourage one another to live lives filled with compassion, kindness and charity, all in ways that bring glory to God. A Steward serves and is served.

A steward lives always in the present, but with an eye toward the future. That is, we allow the hope that we have for the future, that time when Jesus will come back, we allow that hope to influence what we do in the present. We know that there will be a day when sin and death will be no more. There will be no more suffering or sickness or injustice and so as we gather and live together, we can do so in such a way that we make this future reality known. This understanding of what is to come also helps us to put where we are now in perspective. It provides us a lens through which we can look at all the things in our lives and determine what really is important, what really matters, what really is lasting.

This means that we don’t just live to accumulate and collect things, but our treasure is to do the will of God, and using what he has given to us to accomplish that. Our purpose is to make a contribution to others in the name Jesus. Because we believe that doing this will have a lasting impact. This is done in present as we have opportunities to serve those people that God has placed into our lives.

You may have noticed on the cover of your news and notes that today is the Sunday of the Fulfillment. That actually is not part of our emphasis. It is simply the last Sunday of the church year. However, it does capture this idea. Because the Sunday of the Fulfillment is where we look to the promises and hopes that we have in our God and that he keeps his promises, and therefore we can expect this future reality to come. A Steward lives always in the present, but with an eye toward the future.

Christian stewardship is the free and joyful life of the child of God and of God’s family, the church, in managing all life and the resources of life to the glory of our God. May God grant us the grace to continue to grow in our understanding of, identification with, and practice of stewardship. Now and always. Amen.