What is Biblical Stewardship?

When the church (or any group of believers) discusses the intersection of God and money, our role is most commonly conveyed as stewardship.

In the rare instance of Christians discussing money with one another, it is almost inevitable that someone will mention, "I want to be a good steward with what I've been given."

This is absolutely a right and biblical mindset to have, but I fear it has been watered down or lost some of the substance that it is due. Instead of letting this turn into a cliche of the Christian lingo, I want to invite us to think more deeply about what it means to be a steward in hopes that it would lead to a more passionate approach to stewarding the treasures we've been entrusted with.

What is Stewardship?

Outside of the Christian culture, the term stewardship is less frequently used. To frame our mindset for understanding stewardship a common synonym is: A manager.

While manager may be the best fit, it is certainly not interchangeable with a steward. Manager can come with some unhelpful connotations. You've likely encountered a manager or supervisor with whom you disagreed. Consider, though, delegating down to a manager.

Suppose you are an entrepreneur and would like to hire a manager to run your shop to allow you more freedom to do other things that you enjoy. From the perspective of a delegator towards the manager, you'll likely be able to see the manager in a different light. The manager is to care for the business while the owner is away. The manager helps the business to flourish in the designs and goals that the owner intends.

What Stewardship is Not

Sometimes Christians can flinch when they think about what the Bible might say about money because they might think they are supposed to give everything that they have away to live poor.

The concept of stewardship couldn't be further from this belief. One of the most prominent pictures of stewardship from the Bible is from Matthew 25:14-30, the parable of the talents.

To summarize, a man is going away on a journey and entrusted three servants (stewards) with talents (a monetary unit). Two of the servants grew the talents while the master was away. The last servant buried the talents so it would be available when the master returned (in fear of losing the master's money). When the master returned, he dealt harshly with the man who buried the talent. The first part of verse 26 says, "But his master answered him, 'You wicked and slothful servant!'"

God the master has entrusted us as stewards to care for what he has given to us. While generosity is certainly an aspect of stewardship, giving away all that he has given to us does not seem to be the answer.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, stewardship is not about hoarding as much as we can while we are on earth—even if we say it is for God. The parable of the Rich Fool in Luke 12:13-21 tells of a man who has abundant wealth and in wondering what he should do with that wealth he decides to build bigger barns to hold his wealth. In verse 20, "God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?"

Stewardship for the Joy of the Owner

If stewardship is not to give it all away and not to grow and save it all, where does that leave us? The primary mindset to have when considering stewardship is that it should be used for the joy of the owner.

You always steward something on behalf of someone else (the owner). The Bible is very clear about who that owner is. Psalm 24:1 says, "The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein." God owns it all. It isn't our money to solely use for our own joy. We are to use it for the joy of God.

We have a fiduciary duty to the King, managing things in his interests, therefore, we need to be diligent in knowing God more. If we are to manage all that he has given us on His interest, we need to know what those interests are. What does He want us to do with His funds while we are entrusted with them?

What are some things that God delights in? There is no better place to go to find this than the word of God. I would encourage you to read through scripture to find where God is delighting, but I will mention a few things here.

God delights in us delighting in Him (Psalm 147:11).

God delights in caring for the marginalized (Deuteronomy 24:19).

God delights in his creation (Psalm 104:31).

God delights in dealing honestly and dealing fairly with others (Proverbs 11:1).

God delights in his Son and those coming to know and love Him—the nations being pulled into his family (Matthew 3:17).

Our Role as Stewards

So what is our role as a steward for God? How do we steward our finances well? First, we surrender our will for our finances—acknowledging that God owns it all. Then, we look to God, seeking to know Him more, and as we know Him more we can more easily find the uses of money that bring Him joy.

Want guidance on your stewardship journey? Feel free to reach out to one of our financial advisors to discuss what it would be like to work one-on-one with a professional.

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