LIVING AS A FINANCIAL STEWARD (2024)

Being a faithful financial steward is core to following Jesus

For from him and to him and throughhim are all things. To him be glory forever.– Romans 11:36

Christian financial stewardshipmeans our money is seen as being God’s money. It is from God, and as disciples, we should use it for God’spurposes and glory. We did not receive God’s grace so that we might own more,or take the credit for God’s work. Since all things are from him and to him, wewill not be able to live for Jesus without understanding and committing to alife of stewardship. Using God’s gifts for God’s glory is a core concept thathas a primary connection to our thinking about money.

Stewardshipmeans everything belongs to God

From the first verse in the Bible,we see the foundation for stewardship; In the beginning, God created theheavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) This verse is all we should need. Godcreated everything that exists and, as creator, owns everything that exists.And he has never relinquished that ownership. So, from the beginning of theBible until the end, we know that God reigns:

Behold, to the Lord your God belongheaven and the heavens of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. – Deuteronomy 10:14

The earth is the Lord’s and thefullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein – Psalm 24:1

For from him and through him and tohim are all things. To him be glory forever.– Romans 11:36

Also see – Gen 14:19, Exodus 19:5;Leviticus 25:23; Deuteronomy 10:14; 1 Chronicles 29:11; Psalm 24:1; 50:10;95:4-5; 89:11; Isaiah 43:6-7; Haggai 2:8; Romans 11:36; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20;Colossians 1:16-17

Christian financial stewardship begins with a deepunderstanding that God owns everything, is sovereign over everything, and inJesus all things hold together (Colossians 1:17). But, we have a serious mineproblem,don’t we? This house is mine. This car is mine. This 401(k) is mine. Thesechildren are mine. We just think like that. We desire to own stuff.

Here’s the key – We can’t be a steward of God’s resources if we want toown God’s resources. That’s covetousness (wanting what belongs to someone else)or idolatry (finding satisfying purpose in something other than God). We knowthat if something belongs to someone else – in this case, God – we can’t dowith it whatever we want. It’s easy to use mine to justify selfishness.So, we can’t embrace financial stewardship while thinking mine.

The starting point for a financialsteward is to focus on the creator and not his gifts. We need to be consumed bythe majesty of God and his remarkable kindness to us in the gospel. Whencompared to who Jesus is for us, being captivated by what belongs to God isindeed a great sin. Every dollar we earn and every asset we count as ours is God’s.So, real financial stewards will let go of thinking about their assets asbelonging to them:

So therefore, any one of you whodoes not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. – Luke 14:33

Stewardshiprecognizes that God gives us all we have

One of the great, presumptuous sinsof humanity is the thinking that we create success and influence and wealth. Butthis is entirely false and filled with pride. The blessings we have, even if weworked to acquire them, are all from God’s hand. Have you ever wondered why youwere born where you were born, or how you come to have the talents you have, orthe intellect, or the opportunities, or the health? Everything comes from thehand of God, even if we work hard.

King Nebuchadnezzar’s greatpride-filled sin was thinking that all he had was because of him:

…and the king answered and said, “Isnot this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royalresidence and for the glory of my majesty?”– Daniel 4:30

What arrogance! But we aresusceptible to this as well. It’s easy to think I have accomplished greatthings on my own or that the money in my 401(k) is mine. But, all we have comesfrom God’s hand, and we cannot take credit for any of it. And Nebuchadnezzar,learning this through God’s discipline, ultimately confessed, “…all thosewho walk in pride he is able to humble.” (Daniel 4:37)

…for it is [God] who gives you powerto get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers,as it is this day. – Deuteronomy 8:18

A person cannot receive even onething unless it is given him from heaven.– John 3:27

What do you have that you did notreceive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receiveit? – 1 Corinthians 4:7

Also see – Genesis 26:12-13;Deuteronomy 8:18; 1 Chronicles 29:12-14; Job 1:21; Psalm 23:1; Daniel 4:25;Hosea 2:8; Matthew 6:33; Mark 10:29-30; Luke 6:38; John 3:27, 6:65; Romans12:3, 6; 1 Corinthians 4:7; 2 Corinthians 9:8; Ephesians 3:16; Philippians4:19; James 1:17; 1 Peter 4:10, 2 Peter 1:3

All “good” Christians willacknowledge this. But mental assent is not belief. We can find out if we trulybelieve by looking at how we live because we live out what we believe.

If God owns everything andgraciously gives us what we need, we should live lives of faith that believe inand depend on his care. We should believe his promises and instruction andfocus on the mission.

All this does not mean we shouldn’tdiligently work. We should. But we should all be working for the Kingdom andnot for ourselves. We must be faithful in our God-given responsibilities –honest and faithful to our employer, caring for our family, financiallysupporting missions, etc. – but we are not working so we can have more mine.

Therefore do not be anxious, saying,‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For theGentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that youneed them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and allthese things will be added to you.– Matthew 6:31-33

Stewardshipfocuses on God’s glory

Wouldn’t it be helpful if God wouldget very specific on this? What exactly should a Christian steward do? Well,God has precise instructions. In a nutshell, he wants us to function in a waythat brings him glory. As a steward of all he’s entrusted to us – our children,our time, our bodies, the gospel, and our money – everything should be handledso as to make Jesus look infinitely valuable.

In the same way, let your lightshine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory toyour Father who is in heaven.– Matthew 5:16

So, whether you eat or drink, orwhatever you do, do all to the glory of God.– 1 Corinthians 10:31

Whatever you do, work heartily, asfor the Lord and not for men– Colossians 3:23

Also see – Genesis 2:15; Matthew5:16, 24:45-51; Luke 16:11; Romans 12:1; 1 Corinthians 4:1-2, 6:20, 10:31; 2Corinthians 9:11; Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 1:11; Colossians 3:23; 1 Peter4:10-11; Titus 1:7; 1 Peter 4:11

Sometimes we make this overlycomplicated so that we don’t need to face a simple truth. Our life in Christ isall about God’s glory – not our own. That’s what it means to be a faithfulsteward – using God’s resources to bring Glory to God. Often we want to pointto specific things we’re entrusted with – like money or talents – when we talkabout stewardship. And while that’s understandable and important, we must notforget that everything we are and have is part of the stewardship paradigm.

So, how should we handle money? Wemay not usually think about God’s glory when we save for retirement or buy ahouse or go on vacation or think about college costs, but we should. Everythingwe do should serve him. Really! The psalmist even prayed for God’s blessing sothat God could be seen:

May God be gracious to us and blessus and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth,your saving power among all nations.– Psalm 67:1-2

Stewardshipis vital for the Christian

It seems that as humans, we eitherlive with idols and find fulfillment in them and are lost or, through the powerof the Spirit we find life in Jesus and fight for holiness. In Matthew 25:14-30we read the parable of the talents. In this story, those who worked faithfullyfor the master until his return entered into the joy of the master. But theservant who refused to work for the master was thrown into darkness. We knowfrom Scripture that we can’t earn our salvation by doing good works, but wealso know that those who are saved through faith in Jesus will most certainlylive out their new focus.

While money is used in the parable,it is about more than money. Money is used to illustrate the broader concept –if you’re aligned with King Jesus, if you’re saved, you will live in the light.Not perfectly of course. But there will be fruit that can be attributed to yournew life in Christ.

Being a faithful Christian financialsteward is vitally important. Stewardship is an outworking of your salvation.The rewards of faithful stewardship (bringing God glory through faithfullyutilizing his gifts) are fantastic! Eternal life. Now, this will raise someeyebrows but here goes; over time, those who are saved will mature into thelikeness of Jesus. While we won’t achieve perfection here, this maturation(sanctification) is a must. If our faith is genuine and the Spirit isministering to our souls and we are actually united with Christ, we are indeednew and our lives will change:

Strive for peace with everyone, andfor the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. – Hebrews 12:14

And everyone who thus hopes in himpurifies himself as he is pure.– 1 John 3:3

But God’s firm foundation stands,bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone whonames the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” – 2 Timothy 2:19

But just as he who called you isholy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I amholy.” – 1 Peter 1:15-16

And everyone who thus hopes in himpurifies himself as he is pure.– 1 John 3:3

Having an ownership mentalitycreates problems if we are to live for Jesus. Our interests are divided, andour loyalties are split if we have a mine mind. Earthly, ownershipthinking is wrong and tempts us with an autonomous, self-centered dispositionthat defeats our call to serve Jesus with his resources.

Questions about financial stewardship

If we are stewards and not owners, should I own a house?

In the economy of this world, we have ownership. But it’s important to function from God’s perspective and not an earthly one. We can “own” a house while knowing that we don’t truly own it. The important thing is that regardless of how the world defines ownership, we truly understand that we don’t own anything. God owns and gives and takes away.
Even in the earthly sense, we don’t truly own our homes. We must pay property tax on our homes, right? And it’s not cheap. If you don’t pay the tax, you lose the house. So, home ownership is a term we use to say that we control the value and disposition of the home as long as all the other requirements are satisfied.
Owning a home (we don’t really own it) – if done correctly – can be a very smart thing even though it comes with risks.

What is the connection between stewardship and giving?

This is an interesting question because it’s easy to think that we’re giving away money that is ours. Remember, the reality is that God owns everything. So, financial stewardship is not about giving away our money. It’s about faithfully allocating God’s resources in ways that please him. So, God’s priorities should be my priorities. Spreading the gospel, raising godly children, caring for our pastors, caring for your spouse, helping the saints, and the list goes on and on. Remember, Jesus was the example Paul used to urge the Corinthian believers to give more:
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. – 2 Corinthians 8:9
Here’s an article on the foundation for biblical giving.

Should I be saving for retirement?

Without launching into a full-blown retirement discussion, I would say this; it’s good if we can pay our way when we can’t work anymore. So, yes, I think it’s okay to save for retirement. But, our vision for retirement is critical. A Christian financial steward will think about retirement carefully so that all things can point to Jesus and ministry can continue. Here’s an article about saving for retirement.

Here’s another article on stewardship that you might enjoy.

And another article on stewardship