There was a long time where I would hear Christians talk about something called, “stewardship,” and whenever the topic came up, it seemed to always be about donating money. Eventually, I learned that steward is an old word for manager. In fact, it was most often used to describe someone who was a money manager for someone richer than them. I suppose the word has now been replaced by other terms - controller, accountant, CFO, treasurer, bookkeeper – so that people don’t often use the word steward outside of church anymore.
A VERSE ABOUT STEWARDSHIP
Here is a verse that mentions this concept, displayed in two different translations so that you can see the old word alongside the new word.
A VERSE ABOUT STEWARDSHIP
Here is a verse that mentions this concept, displayed in two different translations so that you can see the old word alongside the new word.
“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” ~ 1 Peter 4:10 (KJV)
“Based on the gift each one has received, use it to serve others, as good managers of the varied grace of God.” ~ 1 Peter 4:10 (HCSB)
Wow. Just reading them back-to-back like that makes me appreciate modern translations. I am so glad we don’t have to understand 400-year old English in order to know what the Bible says.
THE POINT
This is a verse that is about “stewardship” (as is obvious in the KJV) and therefore it is about “managing what God has given to us” (as is obvious in the HCSB.) However, please notice that the verse isn’t about money. The verse is about being a good manager of the “gifts” that God has graced us with, and the larger context indicates that he is talking about abilities (like serving and speaking) rather than finances.
The big idea is: just as a steward manages his boss’s money, not for his own personal gain but rather for the good of his boss (the actual owner of the money), so Christians are to manage everything that God has given to them, not for their own selfish purposes but rather for the purposes of God (the actual owner of everything.)
Christian Stewardship means that we are to manage what God has entrusted to us (our cash, our possessions, our skills, our families, our personalities, our positions, our relationships, our abilities to influence others) for His will, rather than acting like all of those things are ours do with whatever we want.
The things that we manage will vary from Christian to Christian, because God has given us all different things. We aren’t all gifted in the same ways, just like how we don’t all have the same amount of money. We all have different personalities and different positions of influence. So, each of us will have a different type of “management” to do. The verse makes this clear when it says that we are to be good managers of “the varied grace of God.”
AN OLD TESTAMENT ILLUSTRATION
Let me use an example from the Old Testament story of Queen Esther. The most famous verse of the story is the part where her cousin Mordecai says to her
THE POINT
This is a verse that is about “stewardship” (as is obvious in the KJV) and therefore it is about “managing what God has given to us” (as is obvious in the HCSB.) However, please notice that the verse isn’t about money. The verse is about being a good manager of the “gifts” that God has graced us with, and the larger context indicates that he is talking about abilities (like serving and speaking) rather than finances.
The big idea is: just as a steward manages his boss’s money, not for his own personal gain but rather for the good of his boss (the actual owner of the money), so Christians are to manage everything that God has given to them, not for their own selfish purposes but rather for the purposes of God (the actual owner of everything.)
Christian Stewardship means that we are to manage what God has entrusted to us (our cash, our possessions, our skills, our families, our personalities, our positions, our relationships, our abilities to influence others) for His will, rather than acting like all of those things are ours do with whatever we want.
The things that we manage will vary from Christian to Christian, because God has given us all different things. We aren’t all gifted in the same ways, just like how we don’t all have the same amount of money. We all have different personalities and different positions of influence. So, each of us will have a different type of “management” to do. The verse makes this clear when it says that we are to be good managers of “the varied grace of God.”
AN OLD TESTAMENT ILLUSTRATION
Let me use an example from the Old Testament story of Queen Esther. The most famous verse of the story is the part where her cousin Mordecai says to her
“Perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.” ~ Esther 4:10b
The famous part is the phrase “for such a time as this.” People love that quote. It’s the most well-known phrase from the book of Esther. However, what does it mean? Well, it means, “for this particular opportunity,” and so it doesn’t make much sense without the rest of the sentence.
The whole sentence is communicating, “God has gifted you with your current position (queen) so that you will manage it according to God’s will in regard to this particular opportunity.” This particular opportunity was for Esther to try to rescue the Israelites from destruction under the hands of a Hitler-like villain named Haman, but that’s more story than is needed for the point I am making right now.
My point is that this was a call for stewardship. God had gifted Esther with queenship, and she was expected to manage it, not simply for her own purposes, but in order to accomplish whatever God wanted her to do with the gift He’d given to her.
THIS APPLIES TO US
You and I are in the same position. No, we aren’t all queens. But we all have “gifts” that God has given to us. We have resources that not everyone has. And the purpose of those resources is not for you to merely use them for yourself, but rather for you to use them for what the true Owner wants. You are managing His stuff. And your management will look different than Queen Esther’s management, or Tim Tebow’s management, or even your next-door neighbor’s. Why? Because you have been given different stuff than them. We are to be managers of the varied grace of God, each person doing his or her part in God’s big giant story called life.
And just as a bookkeeper handles her client’s money differently than her own, so we must handle God’s gifts differently than people who believe they are the captains of their own destiny. Here’s a chart full of examples:
I hope that this has been helpful for you – to think about how you are not just a steward of money, but rather of all that God has given you. I also hope it’s helpful for you to realize that you are a steward of all that God has given you, and not a steward of what He has given to someone else.
The whole sentence is communicating, “God has gifted you with your current position (queen) so that you will manage it according to God’s will in regard to this particular opportunity.” This particular opportunity was for Esther to try to rescue the Israelites from destruction under the hands of a Hitler-like villain named Haman, but that’s more story than is needed for the point I am making right now.
My point is that this was a call for stewardship. God had gifted Esther with queenship, and she was expected to manage it, not simply for her own purposes, but in order to accomplish whatever God wanted her to do with the gift He’d given to her.
THIS APPLIES TO US
You and I are in the same position. No, we aren’t all queens. But we all have “gifts” that God has given to us. We have resources that not everyone has. And the purpose of those resources is not for you to merely use them for yourself, but rather for you to use them for what the true Owner wants. You are managing His stuff. And your management will look different than Queen Esther’s management, or Tim Tebow’s management, or even your next-door neighbor’s. Why? Because you have been given different stuff than them. We are to be managers of the varied grace of God, each person doing his or her part in God’s big giant story called life.
And just as a bookkeeper handles her client’s money differently than her own, so we must handle God’s gifts differently than people who believe they are the captains of their own destiny. Here’s a chart full of examples:
| SOMEONE WHO BELIEVES THEY ARE AN OWNER MIGHT SAY: | SOMEONE WHO BELIEVES THEY ARE GOD'S STEWARD MIGHT SAY: |
|---|---|
| “Look at this paycheck. I can finally go buy whatever I want.” | “Look at this paycheck. How does God want me to use these resources?” |
| “This is my car. If I don’t want to drive there, I’m not going to.” | “This is the car God has given me. I will drive wherever He wants me to go.” |
| “I have an outgoing personality. But that doesn’t mean I have to go around greeting everyone at church and making them feel comfortable. I mean, nobody expects the shy people to do that! So why should I have to?” | God gave me this particular personality so that I can use it for Him. I will greet and comfort whoever it is that He calls me to. I will be on the lookout to use my personality in a different way than other people who God wired differently. |
| “I am the CEO of this corporation. That means I can do whatever I want, and my staff has to do whatever I say.” | “I am the CEO of this corporation by God’s grace. That means I must use this position of influence only in ways that are compatible with what God has revealed. I should treat my staff the way Jesus would.” |
I hope that this has been helpful for you – to think about how you are not just a steward of money, but rather of all that God has given you. I also hope it’s helpful for you to realize that you are a steward of all that God has given you, and not a steward of what He has given to someone else.
