stewardship = sacrifice

And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household…?”

 

- Luke 12:42, NKJ

 

What does it mean to be a “good steward”? We hear this phrase used frequently but perhaps we are a little hazy on the particulars. What Scripture calls a steward, we would call a property manager. It is a person who is given the authority to oversee someone else’s resources. So when Jesus instructs us to be “faithful and wise” in this capacity, he is reminding us that all we have is on loan from God and we are merely the temporary guardians of it.

 

In the very broadest sense, we are charged with stewardship of our lives. None of us chose to enter this world; we are the product of God’s plans and our parents’ decisions. Thus, it stands to reason that at the most fundamental level, life is a gift that is given to us – a fact which makes us stewards. But how do we even begin to manage something as broad and complex as our very existence?

 

It begins with a simple principle: Stewards don’t act primarily in their own interest; they act in the interest of their employer. Translated into our lingo, this means that we live not with self in mind, but with God in mind. Yet, this goes against every natural impulse we have. Humans are born with the instinctive belief that we are the center of the universe; that we are the lead in the script; that everyone else, including God, plays a supporting role in our story. But as stewards, we are tasked with rebelling against reflex to do something immeasurably difficult: Removing self from the center of our existence. Allow that to sink in for just a moment: I am not the focal point of my life.

 

Challenging as it may be, living in this way is liberating. After all, being the center of the universe is an exhausting business. It is exhausting to always be “on,” to always wear the weight of the world upon your shoulders. It is draining to feel that you must always have the answers to every question and to all of life’s problems. It is a weary thing to believe that the world cannot go on without you. I suspect that we all feel this way, far more often than we care to admit. But that burden is not ours to bear. We must learn how to live beyond self, outside of self, free of self. As the Apostle Paul wrote:

 

My ego is no longer central… Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not “mine,” but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20, The Message)

 

Generally speaking, this means giving ourselves away for the good of others. Scripture uses phrases like “spend yourself” and “lay down your life” to describe the Christian ethic. God does not bestow blessings – even life itself – to be locked up, sat on, or buried. When we do that, it is tantamount to putting them on a shelf, where they become idols; they are treasured above all else, even God.

 

Consider Jesus. What if he had taken the same approach to life that we often do? He wouldn’t have hung out with society’s untouchables and outcasts, for fear of tarnishing his reputation. He wouldn’t have challenged the religious establishment, corrupt as it was, for the sake of preserving tradition and sparing himself the personal attacks. He wouldn’t have spent 3 years of his life training a dozen men, choosing instead to pursue his own comfort and happiness. And he wouldn’t have bled out for crimes he didn’t commit to benefit people who had shown him contempt. By many standards, Jesus was frivolous and even downright wasteful of his life. Yet if he had not done so, where would that leave us? Jesus was the very model of stewarding the life God gave him because in expending it, he brought life to more people than just himself.

 

Let us consider that same scenario as it applies to each of our lives: What happens to all the people our lives touch if we choose not to emulate Jesus? Where does that leave them? We are called to take up our crosses each day, cashing in our lives in the course of our daily existence so others may live. At times, stewardship is synonymous with sacrifice. But as the life of Jesus proved, expending our lives doesn’t diminish us; it makes us greater. And that is the cycle of stewardship: God blesses us so we can bless others; and when we bless others, God blesses us.