Some words make me think, and stewardship is one of them.
Maybe it’s the result of “Stewardship Sunday”s — those Sundays each year when a nervous pastor reminds everyone about the virtue of giving, usually just before the annual stewardship drive designed to help the church council plan the church budget for the next year.
I’m not fond of Stewardship Sundays because I think they encourage us to put all our stewardship emphasis on financial stewardship, and I think stewardship is about much more than money.
When we acknowledge Jesus as our Lord, we submit ourselves to Him. Everything we have, everything we are — His. That casts stewardship in a different light.
Traditionally, a steward is someone who oversees assets — someone who cultivates, nurtures, and, when necessary, spends an asset in ways that are most advantageous to the owner of the asset.
As Christians, we are stewards of the gifts — the assets — God has trusted us with. When you consider that life itself is a gift, that makes stewardship a significant issue for us to consider; God trusts us to manage our lives in a way that reflects His goodness, demonstrates His salvation, and builds His kingdom.
A tithe of our earnings is only one small part of that kind of stewardship.
Here are four “Cs” to reflect on as you think about stewardship:
Confession: When we confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of our lives, we are confessing that He is entitled to some kind of good return from us. Are we investing ourselves in ways that yield a good return for Him?
Cultivation: In order to invest ourselves in ways that yield a good return for God, we need to cultivate the things that honor Him in our lives. What gifts and talents do you have? What are you able to do? What do you cultivate in your life?
Conservation: How do you spend yourself? Are you poured out in ways that serve and honor God, or do you pour yourself out in service to your own self? Do you spend your life pleasing yourself, or do you conserve your gifts and talents for the things that honor God?
Confirmation: Does the fruit of your life confirm your stewardship? Is your life bearing good fruit for God’s kingdom?
God is gracious to each of us, giving us gifts to manage and use as we live our lives. What we do with those gifts is an expression of our everyday stewardship — not just on Stewardship Sunday.