Good Stewardship
Sunday, February 01, 2009
"Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. 1 Corinthians 4:1These times of government bailouts, and economic stimulus packages, should serve notice for saints of God to closely examine the times in which we live. It should come as no surprise to the attentive saint, that the economic conditions we are facing are the direct result of the poor stewardship practices of our nation. Greed and avarice have wreaked havoc on the American dream and now threatens our cherished way of life.
Merriam-Webster’s defines a ‘Steward’ as one who is actively concerned with the direction of the affairs of an organization. While this may be a rather broad definition, it does recognize stewardship as the responsibility of each and every person who is involved in the organization on any level. Whatever is entrusted to me is my stewardship, it is my responsibility to get done, and it is my area of accountability. It represents something of great value that has been entrusted to my care.
As we seek to discover the reasons for our current downward economic spiral, we are finding men who have been entrusted with investing great sums of money, who have instead helped themselves to the spoils of other peoples hard earned cash. Even as I write, there is coming to light the revelation of a 10,000 client prostitution ring in which Wall Street and other corporate America executives have financed their lascivious lifestyle of $2000.00 an hour escort services with company credit cards and expense accounts. And this I fear is the only the tip of the iceberg. Is it any wonder that we as a nation are facing the worst financial crisis since the great depression. It may very well be the precursor to what the prophet Daniels calls “...a time of trouble such as the world has never seen. (see Daniel 12:1)
Thankfully, Daniel goes on to show us that that those who are good stewards will be delivered from this trouble. But what exactly does good Stewardship look like. Certainly there are those who are responsible money managers, and this is a type of good stewardship. There are those who are faithful in raising their children. There are many areas wherein we can find examples of good stewardship, and yet this will not necessarily bring the deliverance Daniel is speaking of.
The apostle Paul holds the church, and primarily it’s leadership, accountable for ‘the mysteries of God’. What a responsibility. We are entrusted with investing this great salvation in mankind. As stewards of the mysteries of God, we are charged with sowing the seed of the unadulterated Word of God into the earth. Probably, if we (the Church) had been faithful to our charge, the world would not be facing the turmoil that is just ahead.
Our Lord Jesus Christ warns "That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee”. This he speaks of those who have been exposed to the truth, but did not handle truth properly. It will be more tolerable for the Madoff’s of this world, who after all only wasted money, than for those who have neglected the trust that comes with this great salvation. As good stewards, let us live righteous lives, "Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience."
Because of Calvary!
Bishop Jonathan B. Franklin