When we are called to be stewards, we are given three things:
1. Responsibility and accountability. Jesus expanded on this principle in the following passages:
Matthew 25:14 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country
Luke 19:12 Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.
13 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’
We are given resources to do business. We are expected to conduct business in a reasonable fashion and produce good fruit. If Our Heavenly Father tells us that all the gold and silver (true money) is His then we are to be stewards over wealth. Yes, we are given ownership over assets but we are still accountable to Our Heavenly Father for ultimately we are called to be good stewards. As we embrace the reality of stewardship, we open up ourselves to the blessing of Heaven. Each person has a different level of stewardship based on his or her calling. We should not be envious of someone else’s level of stewardship for with it comes greater responsibility and accountability. We should focus on what matters. Are you willing to establish the Kingdom of GOD on earth or are you concerned about “me and my four and no more”? Do you believe that the Creator of this earth would fail to set aside sufficient resources to establish HIS Kingdom?
2. Time and Resources.
Mathew 25:19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
The servants were given plenty of time to produce fruit. They were given resources. It was up to them to make the correct choices with the resources which had been provided to do business. Each of them knew that there would be a day of reckoning but only after they had been given the opportunity to produce fruit. Just as in the Law of fruit trees, time must be given to produce. Those trees that were not producing might be given fertilizer (opportunity) before the day of judgment. If the fruit tree did not produce it was cut down.
3. An Adversary
What is the test of stewardship? An adversary will come to test your commitment. Sometimes that adversary is another person who would rob you by attempting to redirect your focus on other callings. They would have you focus on areas that just don’t matter and send you on a wild goose chase. They would want you to waste your resources on a “get rich quick” scheme that had no relevance to your calling. Typically those schemes only enrich them. Sometimes the adversary is your flesh or ego. Will you consume resources to satisfy the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life? The adversary will force you to make choices. Those choices will reveal what is in your heart. The day will come when the accounting of your stewardship will be judged.
For those who have ears to hear:
Matthew 25:23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
For those who are blinded by their flesh:
26 “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.
These parables were spoken by Jesus for our benefit and instruction. Jesus doesn’t particularly need your resources, he wants your heart. He wants you to be an expression of the Love of Our Heavenly Father on earth. When people look at you, HE wants them to see Love. These parable express a reality of stewardship. They also express the ramifications:
29 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Now is the time to see what is in your heart.