“Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful… And what do you have that you did not receive? (1 Corinthians 4: 2, 7)
The biblical word steward is often not fully understood or appreciated. It is actually one of the most important words in the New Testament. A synonym for this word is manager. Many people believe being a steward primarily relates to money, but that application falls far short of this word’s essential meaning.
Paul asks the probing question: “And what do you have that you did not receive?” He is telling us that our stewardship applies to everything we receive from God: our time, energy, gifts and talents, our health, and all the things that make up the essence of our very lives, including all our money and possessions.
At the age of 65 one of my best friends had what he refers to as a “halftime experience” when he came to fully understand what a steward is. His regular custom was to draw a line down the middle of a legal pad page. On the left side he wrote “My Business” while on the right side he wrote “God’s Business.” When he fully appreciated this word “steward” he erased that line because, as a very successful businessman, he realized it was all God’s business.
Remember, the important thing about being a steward is that we be found faithful. Do you realize there is nothing in your life you did not receive from God? Are you faithfully managing everything you have received from God?
Are you willing to have a halftime experience and erase the line between what is yours and what is God’s?
Dick Woodward, 10 June 2010
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