Defining Stewardship

After writing my post yesterday, I was curious as to see what the Bible said about stewardship. Surprisingly, the word “stewardship” or “steward” is not used in many versions of the Bible. However, the word “overseer” is used quite often and I’ve found a few verses that describe the qualities of an overseer.

“Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless — not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rahter, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.” -Titus 1:12

These verses in Titus reference God’s household and go along with the point I made yesterday about how we Christians need to practice our stewardship over one another so that we can show the whole world God’s love. The last sentence reminded me of a Sunday School lesson a few weeks ago. We had been talking about the Fall and how part of Adam’s fault was that he did not relay God’s exact words to Eve when telling her about the Tree of Knowledge. Adam summarized God’s words so that Eve could presumably understand the content better. However, God knows what He’s saying and so by not “holding firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught”, Adam began the downfall of human sin. That is why it is so important that we stick to the Bible’s exact wording. I know that there are different versions, but most say basically the same thing. If we as stewards can stick by this sound doctirne, we can change lives.

“Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children must obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect.” -1Timothy 3:2-4

These verses from 1 Timothy say many of the same things as the prior verses from Titus. One difference though is that it mentions that “He [the overseer] must manage his own family well”. I know that I don’t have a family of my own yet (husband, kids, etc), but I think this still can apply to me. Many of you readers know that I still don’t have the best relationships with my family members, though it is getting better. It is often said that the best leader leads by example. In this verse God is telling the overseer that he or she needs to lead by example by demonstrating Christ-like love in their family. Then as the world sees the loving example in the family, the world can then recognize that God’s love is real and begin to follow example and love.

I think that God is trying to speak to me right now. I’ve learned that the real purpose of mission trips is to fulfill the responsibility of stewardship that God has given me. Still, I believe that God still has some stuff to teach me about stewardship and my role in the world. I can’t wait to see what He has in plan for me!

Stewardship of a Princess Disciple

I have begun to realize just how blessed and fortunate I am. Sometimes my life can feel kind of hum drum, but tonight after I had turned off my light, I was looking around my room in the dim light from my doorway, and it dawned on me that I really am living the high life. I don’t mean to write this as boastful, but as awareness that to many people in the world, I am living the life of a princess. It makes me stop and think because I never thought of myself as living on the standards of a princess, but many qualities of a princess, I have.

I know this might seem very ridiculous, but after looking around my room and realizing how much I really have, I have an urge to invite lots of people into my room so that they can share God’s blessings too. When I was a little girl and dreamed about princessess (I’m not saying that I have ceased to dream about them), I always imagined them as kind and generous, giving and caring for the poor while being a level-headed leader and caregiver. This reminds me of something from my camp devotion. Every day, my camp devotion booklet would have a space provided so that I could write down a given definition of the word “stewardship” in the hopes of memorization. The definition is as follows:

Stewardship – the responsible overseeing and protection of something considered worth caring for and protecting

When I think of a princess, I think of stewardship. Since I liken myself to be a princess (again, I do this as a metaphor, please do not think me snooty!), God has placed me in stewardship over something. My immediate thought is His people. His children. He has deemed every person on this earth as worth caring for and protecting, and He has given that responsibility to His disciples, aka me and all the other Christians.

This all may seem a bit silly, but it gives me a new perspective. I have dreamed of going on a mission trip to Haiti, but my purpose for going was always so that I could help the people down there and do some work for God. Now however, I realize that my real purpose for going down to Haiti should be so that I can responsibly oversee and protect God’s children whom are less fortunate than I. I no longer want to go so that I can help, but so that I can protect and provide what God has intrusted me to do. I feel this is a more accurate reason for me going down to Haiti, and I believe that God wanted me to see this before I travel to help anyone, even in my school, church, or home. So I leave you with this thought: all Christians have been given stewardship over his or her brothers and sisters so that in caring for each other, we can show the world God’s love.