Capitalist societies emphasize the importance of ownership. They revolve around the concept. Ownership gives a sense of pride and power; a sense of self worth. The more you own the more important, powerful and valuable your life appears to be; the more satisfaction you think you can obtain. The problem is appearances can be false. They can be illusions. They can create false senses and feelings; especially false senses of security and value.
Stewardship, on the other hand, conveys a deeper and noble sense of responsibility. It reflects one’s awareness of being responsible and accountable to another; a greater authority. Stewardship is the mindset of one who acts knowing God is the ultimate authority and owner of all.
RELEVANCE
Jesus shared two key parables relating to stewardship: The Talents in Matthew 25:14-30 and The Unjust Steward in Luke 16:1-13. From these parables we can glean much insight and gain a lot of wisdom:
- maintain integrity and make the best of what you have
- act wisely, being diligent, faithful, responsible and accountable
- we are stewards of grace, faithful to God, to do for his honor and glory
- be cautious not to forfeit grace, honoring God as the ultimate judge
- trusting in material/worldly things for satisfaction and happiness leads to deception and disappointment
REFLECT AND RELATE
What does it mean to you to own vs. be a steward of something?
How differently would you act if you owned vs. managed something?
How would you feel about damaging/losing something somebody else owned?
REFERENCES
Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 16:1-13