At the beginning of December, God began to speak to me about stewardship. A steward is defined as, a man employed in great families to manage the domestic concerns, superintend the other servants, collect the rents or income, keep the accounts, etc.
Stewardship is also defined as; the conducting, supervising, or managing of something.
The Bible, as we know, has a great deal to say about stewardship.
Colossians 3:23-24 says, And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.
In the Passion Translation it says it like this; Put your heart and soul into every activity you do, as though you are doing it for the Lord himself and not merely for others. For we know that we will receive a reward, an inheritance from the Lord, as we serve the Lord Yahweh, the Anointed One!
In everything we do, we are to do it as unto the Lord. In an honest and true way that pleases God. In a way that aligns with the Word of God. That is good and godly stewardship.
God is indeed watching how we handle things. How we handle our jobs. The people who work for or with us. He is watching how we take care of everything; our vehicles, our homes, our children, and one another.
If we don’t steward well what God has put in our hands, He probably won’t give us increase in that area. For instance, if God gives you a vehicle and you abuse it and refuse to take care of it, He probably won’t give you a better one. However, if you take care of the little and seemingly insignificant things His gives us, He will put more in our hands. We see this truth in the Word of God.
Matthew 25:23 says, His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’
This scripture teaches us why good stewardship is vital. If we fail to take care of what we have, God will not give us more. This applies to all areas of our life.
If we honor God with our finances, increase will come – if we don’t, it won’t. At least not God’s way. If we don’t take care of the homes we now have, God will not give us a new one. The same with vehicles. We need to take good care of them to the best of our ability. As unto the Lord, as the scripture says. Why? Because if God can’t trust us in little, He certainly can’t trust us in much or greater.
But that’s not the only reason good stewardship is vital, there is another reason. Stewardship is tied to our inheritance.
Let’s look again at Colossians 3:24… knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. When we are good stewards of what God has put in our hands, there is a reward. That reward is an inheritance from God.
Inheritance is another thing God has been speaking to me about lately. It was only recently I saw in the Word of God that our inheritance is tied to stewardship. It is aligned with how we take care of what God has put in our hands.
Today, I want to ask you…how are you stewarding what God has put in your hands? Do you treat your vehicle as if God were watching? How about your home? Do you take good care of it, keeping it clean and tidy? How about your family? Do you care for them well? Do you take good care of their heart, their emotions? How about your money? Are you a good steward of the finances God puts in your hands?
How are you stewarding?
Only you can answer that question. Know this, how you are stewarding is tied to the reward of your inheritance from God. Stewardship and inheritance, they are linked together. Purpose in your heart to be a good steward before God, which will cause you to receive the full inheritance He has for you.