What a Steward Is

The animals were sitting around the barn one evening trying to decide how they were going to help out the farmer. After much discussion they decided to do a fundraiser. The only thing left now, was to figure out exactly what kind of fundraiser they wanted to do. The chicken said, “I have a great idea. We could put on a fresh farm breakfast. Bacon, Eggs, you know the whole nine yards.” At which point the pig spoke up, “Well, that’s easy for you to suggest. For you this fundraiser would only require a contribution, for me it requires a commitment.”

Now, I don’t know if you have heard this one before or not. But it is kind of funny. And I think that it gives us a good picture to help us understand the different understandings people have about stewardship. We are ultimately talking about this idea between contribution and commitment. For most, they see stewardship as a matter of contribution. But last week we said that stewardship was not about money or giving money. Last week we said that stewardship was a worldview, a way of life, a source of identity, a relationship. Stewardship really is a commitment. But that should not come as a surprise. After all, Jesus did say, “If any would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.”

Last week we talked about how stewardship is a way of life. It is a worldview and a source of identity, and that ultimately stewardship is about relationship. Today we are going to unpack that a little bit more. This way of life, worldview, source of identity are God’s gracious gifts given to us because of and for the sake of our Savior Jesus. So we are going to talk about us as God’s stewards.

The first thing we want to understand is that God’s stewards are God’s stewards. We belong to our God. Now I know that I am not telling you anything new. However, this is the starting point. If stewardship is ultimately about a relationship than it is important to understand that we belong to our God.

We belong to him because he is our creator. We confess this all the time in the creed. He has made me and all creatures and given my body and all its members and still cares for them. We don’t just belong to him by way of the creator and creation relationship, but by also by a new re-creation relationship. For not only did God knit us together in our mother’s wombs, but he re-created us in the waters of Holy Baptism. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

This relationship is a two way street. Not only does it allow us to know the one who created, redeemed and sanctifies us, but it also assures us that we are known by him. You are not a number. You are not just one in a million who is lost in a sea of faces. He knows you, loves you, and cares for you. This love is more than we could ever comprehend. Knowing and understanding this allows us to have our identity, as God’s own dearly loved daughters and sons, as God’s stewards, be even more sure and firm.

This relationship allows us to see our place in God’s mission and to find our purpose for life. ”In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”

This is all the gift of God. It is really pretty awesome. God is the source of all our Gifts, Talents, Skills and even time. With this being the case, then as we talk about stewardship, we are talking about something that encompasses all of life. Therefore, stewardship is about our Life, real true life, being lived as an offering and contribution to others in the name of Jesus. Because in life lived in this way, life lived for Jesus’ sake and the sake of the Gospel, we find true life.

So as God’s stewards, we belong to God. And since he is the source of all our gifts, talents, skills and time, then as God’s stewards we are managers and not owners. Now, I know that this is a completely different way of looking at life than the way the world would tell us to see it. The world would tell us that we work hard for the money. I’ve earned it. It is mine. But this is a view and mindset that is very much focused on ourselves. It is all about me. Ultimately, this is a very unfulfilling way to live. No matter how much you have there is not enough. There is always something newer, improved or better. Something breaks and then it has to be replaced.

Now I am not saying that we have to give up what we have. That is not the case at all. What I am suggesting is that we change the way we see it. As God’s stewards we are entrusted with Life and the resources of Life. So what we do with those resources and how we manage them is kind of important. What we have, we have from the God. And so we use it not just for our own benefit and enjoyment but for God and his purposes. The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.

Again it is important to reiterate that this is not a view that can be arrived at by guilt. I am not saying, “It really belongs to God, so you can’t do with it what you would like.” Instead, we should challenge ourselves to cultivate a gratefulness for the things that God has blessed us with. How can we use them for his benefit and his glory. Because when we see things from this perspective, we will find even more than mere enjoyment from these gifts. We will find fulfillment.

Now this is not an easy thing to do. God’s stewards are at the same time Saints and sinners. As saints we rejoice in and live out what we have been declared to be by our Lord through the cross. But at the same time we realize that we are sinners who battle with sin and the consequences of sin on a daily basis.

As we are talking about stewardship here, I hope that some of this is presenting to you a challenge. But in a good way. That you would hear it and say, “Yeah. I want that in my life.” Understanding that we are at the same time saints and sinners helps us to realize that while this is something good to want, that getting there is not easy. Growth as a disciple of Jesus is not easy or quick. Yet we are called to reflect him, his will, his values, his purpose and to join him in his mission. This is our calling.

So what do we do? Do we give up? Do we get overwhelmed? Do we pretend that we got it all together? No. We remember God’s promises. He is faithful. He keeps his promises. The promises that he makes to us, especially the promises in Baptism, provide for us what we need to be able to live the life as God’s stewards, God’s people, God’s dearly loved sons and daughters. So we remember our baptism, we are strengthened and sustained in Holy Communion. We read and study his word and allow it to be a regular part of our lives.

As we do all this, we seek to live this life in God’s grace. As we seek to grow and mature in our discipleship and following of Jesus. Not only are we strengthened and sustained in Baptism and Communion, but we are also not in this alone. God’s stewards are at the same time uniquely singular, yet profoundly plural. It is important for us to understand that life is not a solo performance. That as we live our lives as God’s own dearly loved daughters and sons we do this within a community of faith. We do this within the church, for the benefit of the world.

So in this great and awesome thing, called the church, we learn from one another. We are able to discover and learn to better use our talents, gifts and skills as they are discovered, developed and deployed. And all of this is not for our own personal use, but so that the church, the body of Christ might be built up and strengthened. And all of this is for the benefit of the world.

This is awesome stuff. It impacts everything in our lives. But not in a negative way. I think life lived in this way is life better than anything we could ever imagine or hope for. I pray that that as we see ourselves as God’s stewards who manage the gifts that he gives to us as saints and sinners who are uniquely singular, but profoundly plural, that we would all grow in our disciple and be strengthened in our faith. May it be a blessing to us now and always.