"Steward Well What He Gives"

Oct 26, 20235 min read

1 Corinthians 4:1-2 AMP

"So then, let us [who minister] be regarded as servants of Christ and stewards (trustees, administrators) of the mysteries of God [that He chooses to reveal]. In this case, moreover, it is required [as essential and demanded] of stewards that one be found faithful and trustworthy. " [NLT version unless otherwise noted. Scriptural emphasis mine]

Have you ever thought about what you would do if God answered your biggest prayer?

Well, I have and the first thing that comes to mind is stewardship; how would I handle it and would I handle it well? Stewardship is defined by Merriam-Webster as "the job of supervising or taking care of something, such as an organization or property" and moving even deeper the "careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care". Stewardship is not only about money like many would have you believe. God gives us many things and we must steward them all well. He gives us Spiritual gifts seen in 1 Corinthians 12 [like words of knowledge, prophecy, healing, discerning of spirits, tongues, etc.] and Romans 12 that we use as part of Christ's Body [serving, leading, teaching, etc.], talents [writing, singing, dancing, etc.], our bodies [temples of the Holy Spirit], money, time, the earth, our relationships and on and on and on. But ultimately a good steward remembers that it all belongs to God and therefore it should be a joy and delight to steward it well: because then God gets the glory and we [and others!] get the good benefits of it. You don't own it; you simply manage it on behalf of someone else and that someone else is God who simply and lovingly allows us to steward it as followers of Christ. It's like taking ownership while knowing you are not the owner. Ever babysat someone else's kids? Yep, they are my "babies" [my responsibility] while under my care but returning them to their parents in better condition than when they arrived is how I roll and shows I am a true and faithful good steward! Be warned though, no video games allowed, and I'll probably drag them to the art museum, library and tennis courts for a lesson before giving them a healthy meal and cake for dessert [sorry it is my favorite food remember?].

In 1 Corinthians 4 the Apostle Paul is speaking at length to the Corinthians about true Apostleship. Namely, that since only God can judge the heart and only God's judgement matters, he wants his heart to be found faithful and true as he spreads the Gospel and oversees those in the churches he has planted. Because this is the expected mark of a true Apostle and good steward. Paul tackles the pride, arrogance and divisiveness on full display among the Corinthians and admonishes them for this behavior unbecoming that of a true and faithful Believer, minister of the Gospel and servant of Christ. One way he does this is by extolling the principle of stewardship. Paul is reminding them that Believers have been entrusted with something very valuable and should be careful in how they steward this treasure. What is that treasure, that something, that gift? --> the mysterious plan of God that is the Good News Gospel of Jesus Christ. At the end of the day God will see and righteously judge the heart accordingly.

Not only should Believers be good stewards of what God gives us because He holds us accountable, but because poor stewardship reflects badly on God, on ourselves and possibly to those who, without access to or desire of a Bible, are looking to us as influencers and leaders. When I was in business school one of the first things we learned and what I had to practice in the corporate world was taking good, prudent and informed care of what I was given or was in charge of. When I did a job well, not only did I feel fantastic, but my executive leadership looked great and rewarded me for my good stewardship. Did I do it for the reward? No! Many times, I had no idea a reward or acknowledgement was forthcoming and that made it all the sweeter when it did. I was mindful to be a good steward simply because I valued what I was given, recognized who gave it to me and didn't want to embarrass myself, the company or my ultimate CEO --> God. Besides which, do you think the company's president would have advanced me or trusted me with another and bigger project if I had fouled up or mishandled the previous one? NOPE!

Getting back to answered prayer. I saw a teaching a few years back that caused me to examine how I would handle answered prayer in a way that was thankful, honorable and giving all glory and honor to God, without squandering it. It reminded me that stewardship is honoring God not only by returning the best of our first back to Him, but responsibly managing what remains. And remember masterpieces God is not condemning us, He gives us help with His Holy Spirit to lovingly convict our hearts and help us be good stewards of what He gives us! When condemnation is brewing, the Devil is lying; when conviction is nudging, the Holy Spirit is working. Wisdom, discernment and fellowship with God tells us the difference.

Practically speaking, what does that look like? It looks like being intentional, consistent and generous. What if you were a recent graduate and your biggest prayer was for a teaching job? When God answered that prayer, with intentionality you would be prepared with lesson plans, educational resources and a current teaching license; with consistency you would daily be timely in arriving and starting and running an aligned and productive classroom; and with generosity you would willingly give information, knowledge, instruction and care to your students. At the end of the school year, you would have been a good steward of what God gave you and it might be reflected in the students' grades, attitudes, behaviors and your job retention and acknowledgement from educational leadership. The biggest result would be God seeing a heart dedicated to protecting the minds of children just as He protects the minds of His children. Successful students is you giving back to God the best of your first. It all belongs to God and He lovingly shares it with us, so how can we do anything but be a good steward?

It is always a good practice to remind ourselves as Christians that God gives us many special gifts, the best of which is Salvation through Jesus and our faithful and true stewardship looks like pointing those around us, those we come in contact with and those who we don't even know to Jesus. When we walk free in Christ led by the Holy Spirit our sure steps move in line with God's perfect Will and the results are more than we could ask, think or imagine. Stride confidently by God's strength, power and wisdom, you good steward, you!

Takeaways for you to remember:

#1 God owns it all! Give God the best of your first and steward well what remains.

#2 A good steward is mindful to care for what is entrusted to them.

#3 God sees and knows a true and faithful Believer's heart.

Yours in Christ!

Dr. Quahana

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