The term stewardship is tossed around like a buzzword. Because it is used so often, the word 's true meaning has lost a lot of its relevance. Let 's look at Merriam Webster 's definition of stewardship:
1. The office, duties, and obligations of a steward
2. The conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one 's care.
Stewardship is one of the most common themes in the Bible. I refer to stewardship as being a faithful manager of the time, skills, and financial resources that God has provided you. How you manage these three elements of your life affects every other area. When you apply God 's principles regarding stewardship, you will begin to enjoy freedom and
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What we possess is not ours. The Bible tells us God created everything between heaven and earth. He owns everything. We are responsible for managing our lives, our money, and our possessions on God 's behalf. Because everything we possess is ultimately His, we are essentially God 's managers. Many believe that only the first 10 percent belongs to God (a tithe), but in reality, He owns the other 90 percent as well. He graciously loans us resources based on our ability to manage. Will you become a faithful manager?
The parable of the talents (see Matthew 25:14-30) illustrates the power of being a faithful manager. With each level of responsibility, the amounts given to the servants differed, but each was entrusted with something. The rewards were not based on the amounts given, but rather on the increase that resulted from the amount given. God gives you responsibility based on what you can handle. You have been given something that is important to God; you can please Him through being faithful with what He has provided and called you to
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If you believe God created everything-from the earth and the other planets to plant and animal life to humans to, more specifically, you-then this should be the foundation of your faith. Who is in control of everything?
2. God Owns Everything
Psalm 24:1 tells us, "The earth is the Lord 's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it" (niv). Your faith is your greatest asset in this world. As your faith continues to grow, your reliance on God should increase as well. Believing God owns everything will motivate you to a whole new level. This also leads to an important question: To whom does your money really belong?
3. We Are God 's Trustees
First Timothy 6:17-18 exhorts,"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share" (niv). Being entrusted with wealth carries great responsibility. If you believe God owns everything, isn 't your money really His money? He has entrusted the things of this earth to you, and He allows you usage during your lifetime, but He is still in control and the ultimate Owner. How, then, should you manage His
Christian Beliefs in the Origins of the World “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. ” A Description of Christian Beliefs About the Origins of The World Christians believe that God created the universe. In Chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis, we are told that God creates both the universe and everything that is in it.
Leviticus 25:14 (NLT) states, “And if you sell anything to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor's hand, you shall not oppress one another.” The Bible states that we should buy and sell from one another, which in turn would entail money and profit. Again, God’s attributes can be found in this process: "honesty, faithfulness to our commitments, fairness, and freedom of choice." (Grudem, 2003, p.37). By making a profit, one is increasing God’s resources. Money and profit provides opportunities to glorify God by providing to charity, giving to the church, and expanding our stewardship. However, if we only seek good for ourselves when buying and selling and making dealings with money and profit, our hearts can be filled with greed. Some sellers have such excessive prices that it robs the buyer. The seller’s profits become great, but the buyer’s money is depleted. This is evil in respect to business transactions, profit and
He describes men as wanting to stake ownership on anything and everything just like the colonial world, where they would plant a flag somewhere and just declare ownership (even when there were people already living there like the Native Americans). However, we our typically led on with the thought, “My time is my own”(Lewis 112), as Screwtape so wisely puts it. This is flawed thinking, we truly own nothing screwtape states that if he was to question his ownership, “even we cannot find a shred of argument in its defence”(Lewis 112). This view is very prevelant in modern society, we have our own morals, our own bodies, our own lives to do with as we wish, yet this is exactly what Screwtape wants us to think. If we take the opposite of his advice which is always a good idea we will find that we we should view this time as the Lord's we are on borrowed time and so we should set it to the best possible use. As Paul says in, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 "You are not your own; you were bought at a price"(ESV). We don't even own ourselves we are the
Throughout the context of the Bible, the Lord stresses the importance of what we do with our time here on Earth. He wants all of his children to obey their masters through Him, regardless of how tiresome the task becomes. Several books within the Bible illustrate the importance of sacrifice and discipline in the journey to salvation and everlasting happiness. God enforces that believing in Him, having hope, and putting in fruitful work is the true path to a righteous life and acceptance into Heaven (1 Cor. 15:58). The strength to endure any obstacle comes from your relationship with God and the integrity you have for it; exhibiting the significant relationship between His word and your work.
Many have heard the popular phrase “Money is the root of all evil,” derived from 1 Timothy 6:10 which states “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (NIV). However, this verse does not blame money itself for evil, but the love of money - greed. One’s attitude toward money could certainly be considered a characteristic of one’s values and ethical/unethical beliefs that influence ethical judgment (Vitell, Singh, & Paolillo, 2007). Greed, corruption, deceit, and other unethical attitudes can lead one away from biblical principles. Proverbs 16:8 states; “Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice” (NIV). As Christians, and business professionals, we must place focus not on worldly riches such as
Christian’s duties as being a responsible steward need to manage God’s belongings to the best of their ability. Only the Christian has the proper foundation for understanding people's true responsibility to ca...
...responsibility.” (Kroeger p306). This is exactly how I was during my marriage and subsequent relationships after the divorce. Although commitment to the organization and being in control of my department are strengths, they took away from my personal life because I was putting my job first above everything in my life including my walk with God. As maintenance manager, due to the very nature of the job and from an ISTJ perspective, this position acted as an enabler to put the strengths of commitment to work and the organization as the priority in my life. In Matthew 6:33 Christ said, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (NASB). As my priorities changed, He gave me another opportunity for personal happiness thru Him and my fiancée. He also gave me the courage, drive and determination to change my career.
This paper is an attempt to do the impossible. In a handful of pages, I will dig into the Bible to build a theology of leadership, look at history to see important influences on the pastoral vocation, and build a personal structure for my call to the pastorate. Fittingly, this paper faces many of the challenges of ministry. The job description is massive in scope, the resources are scant, and the hope for success lies squarely on the work of the Spirit.
As in 2 Kings 22 verses 7-9 when the money was entrusted to the workers and supervisors of the temple, we as a society need to entrust our financial needs with the Lord. The attitude of today is to consume and make more money to buy things so enough is never enough. Pretty soon the money is your only focus and you lose sight of Gods plan for us to spread his work. Our need to make more leads to greed and deceit, which you see in the media so much today. The best way to do business is with honesty and integrity, it will go a long way when people can put their trust in you and not have to worry about being misled. In 2 Kings 22 verse 9 “ Then Shapan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: “ Your officials have paid out the money that was in the temple of the lord and have entrusted it to the workers and supervisors at the temple.” (2 Kings 22: 9).
Leadership within Christian community should be with distinct qualities and traits of an effective Christian leader. The author defined leadership by not focusing on profit when Christ said, “Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” The author explored the leadership qualities and practices that are not only distinct within the community of Christian leadership but also applicable in any arena of leadership. Significance comes from working with associates and friends. Similarly, the joy of success comes from the journey toward it than its accomplishment. Grace-full leader is a responsive leader who allows an organization to discontinue practices that are no longer effective and replace them with other good ideas and effective methods.
As you enjoy this tremendous gift called freedom, stay accountable to God because that's the only way to maximize your potential for success.
The author indicates great qualities in regards to economics and wealth. He talks about how the bible states individuals should have qualities of a strong work ethic, and other entrepreneurial characteristics such as initiative and perseverance. He also highlights as the main elements of a biblical approach to economics are: 1. The materials in the world are good for man because GOD created it, but the love for it leads to sin. 2. GOD owns the world’s economic resources and humans are stewards of the resources. 3. The wealth creation process is connected to the dominion GOD gave us and the fact that we are made in his image. 4. You should work as you work for GOD, because you and your work are ordained by the Lord. 5. If you work you are responsible for taking care of yourself and your family. 6. The working community is
Because a person’s beliefs and values will shape their lifestyle, every Christian needs to be sure that their beliefs and values are in line with God’s Word! Lord willing, in future newsletters we will discuss the various aspects of a person’s lifestyle and how each one relates to stewardship.
... be controlled by a manager as long as you take the steps to measure it.
Living a simple life is far greater than living a life full of extravagance. Simpler living can lead to a life of fulfillment and happiness, like that of my family’s, or to a life of greed and envy, such as Pahóm’s. Growing up in a small, rural area, excessive belongings are rare. Regardless of how much money my parents made, we were always happy because we had each other. I was raised in a strong Christian home which greatly influenced my views on Tolstoy’s short story. The Bible references greed and having a materialistic focus many times. In Exodus chapter 20, Moses was given the Ten Commandments in order for the people to live a life with a closer relationship to God. The second commandment reads: “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below” (The Teen Study Bible: New Internation Version 92-93). God gave Moses this law so the people would keep God in their main focus. When Christ is the center of our lives, the focus of how we live our lives is upward to please God, rather than inward to please ourselves. The tenth commandment instructs followers of Christ not to covet a neighbor’s belongings. When living a fulfilling Christian life, God will provide in every circumstance so there is no need to be envious of another. Job exemplifies a