“There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward’” (Luke 16:1-2).
Because of sin, man constantly rebels against his stewardship. He says concerning his possessions, “They’re mine and I will use them any way I please for my own profit and pleasure.” The words rooted deep in the heart of every person are those of the Pharaoh found in Exodus 5:2: “Who is the Lord that I should obey Him?” But, by the grace of God in Christ Jesus, sinners are brought back into the household of God to be faithful and wise stewards over the Lord’s possessions so that we may say, “That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.” We are stewards of the time, talents, and treasures of our Lord, and we are called to use them for His glory, and we must also be ready to give an account, at any moment, of what He has entrusted into our hands.
Scripture tells us that we must seize every opportunity, every moment, and every talent for the glory of God. We must work diligently in our vocation as responsible stewards of Christ. Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:15: “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” And we read in Colossians 3:17: “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” And Paul makes it very clear in 1 Corinthians 10:31 that our stewardship applies to every area and aspect of our lives: “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
Scripture is clear — we are stewards of all that God has entrusted into our hand; we don’t steward these things to gain salvation; that is impossible. Rather, we strive to be good stewards as a result or a fruit of our salvation. Time, talents, and treasures and how we use these things only reveal the nature of our heart. If you think everything you possess is yours to do with as you please then you’re manifesting a heart of unbelief; you’re behaving like the Pharaoh in Exodus 5. But if you believe and confess the words of 1 Corinthians 4:7, “What do you have that you have not received?” then you manifest a heart that has been transformed by the Spirit of God. Oh, it’s easy to say that you believe the earth is the Lord’s and all the fullness thereof, but how do you spend your time? How do you spend the money God has entrusted to you? How much do you give to the work of the Lord compared to spending on your own purposes and pleasures? Are you faithfully giving back to the Lord what He requires of you? Pray that the Lord makes you a better steward of all that He has given to you in order that His name might be praised through the manner in which you steward the possessions He blesses you with.