Jesus on Stewardship

Well, it’s that time of the year again. It comes around every fall. Stewardship season. We all know that is the time when we talk about giving to God, whether time, talents, or treasure—our financial gifts. But what does stewardship really mean?

We have been talking a lot about the kingdom of heaven in church this fall. I have preached several sermons on how Jesus describes the kingdom of heaven, and the parables he uses to characterize it.

There is one story he tells in Matthew 25 that is about stewardship, but from the perspective of the kingdom. What is stewardship in the kingdom like?

The story Jesus tells is one we have heard before. It’s the one where a man plans to go on a long journey, and he entrusts his wealth to his servants. He calls forward three men, to one he gives 5 bags of gold, to another three bags and to the last he gave one bag, and then he went on his trip.

I think we all remember this story. When the master returned, he wanted to know what the men had done with the money he had given them. The first two came forward and gave their master twice what he had given them. They had invested wisely. The man with five bags earned five more, and the one with three bags earned three more.

But when the one who had only one bag came forward, all he had to show for himself was the original bag of gold. He had hidden it in a hole in the ground to keep it safe. The master was furious. He calls the servant “wicked and lazy.” He took away his gold and had him thrown out of the house.

It’s actually kind of a severe story, but it points out a few things that we don’t always think about in terms of our own stewardship.

As God’s people, we have been given many gifts; gifts of life and health, gifts of family and friends, and even monetary gifts that we have earned and saved over the course of our lives. What does God expect us to do with those gifts? Like the servants in the story, I think there are a few key points we should be aware of when we think about God’s gifts to us.

First of all, we recognize that these gifts do not belong to us; they are given to us by God. All that we are, and all that we have is a gift, on loan to us from God. Our life, our health, even the money we have, is not ours forever. We cannot take it with us when we die. It all belongs to God, and we merely have charge of it for a while.

That is the second point; we have been given these gifts as a charge. God has entrusted them to our care, and God expects us to use them wisely and well. The servants in the story used what their master gave them to earn even more, and were praised for their diligence and hard work. Not so the lazy servant who did nothing at all with what had been given to him.

That is the final point that I believe Jesus is making; one day we will be called to account for what God has given to us. Have we used it wisely? Have we used it well? Or have we merely buried it in the ground and put it to no good use? Remember the fate of that wicked servant.

This next week, when you receive your stewardship letter and pledge card, think about what God has given you, and what God calls you to do with all those gifts and blessings. Don’t bury them, share them and watch them multiply.