Life Lessons on Intentional Stewardship

Recently, I had the privilege to minister at a local church on a leadership series, looking at God’s call on leaders to consecration and faithful stewardship in life and ministry.

In my final talk, we explored verse-by-verse 16 life lessons on intentional stewardship, looking at Matthew 25:14-30 as our main text.

In this post, I want to briefly outline a couple of fundamental takeaways from the session.

With God, there is no hit and miss. God is always intentional with everything. All He does is by design // Life Lessons on Intentional Stewardship Click To Tweet

And so when it comes to our stewardship in life and ministry, the question fundamentally revolves around our faithfulness with what God has committed into our hands — 1 Corinthians 4:1, 1 Peter 4:10-11.

When we understand God’s higher principles, we find it easier to embrace His instructions for life. 

We are servants, not masters

So starting with verse 14 of Matthew 25, we noticed something straightaway…

“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.”

The first fundamental life lesson of stewardship is the reality that none of us is THE MASTER. We are all servants.

And this can be life-changing by shaping our approach to leadership in our homes, communities, marketplace, personal relationships and ministry.

Leaders are called to serve, not rule over men — Matthew 20:25-28. When God gave man dominion in Genesis 1, it was over all creation, except man.

As a steward, you are only employed to manage someone else’s property for a period. That means you won’t be here forever.

So, the reality of the brevity of time should instill in you the urgency of your assignment. 

We don’t OWN anything

Back to Matthew 25:14, we see the focus change from the subjects (“his servants”) to the assignment and responsibility (“entrusted to them his property“).

In life, we don’t OWN anything. We are entrusted with gifts, talents, people and resources for a purpose greater than us.

It’s easy to embrace the false narrative that all we have is the result of our own efforts and craft.

No doubt that’s absolutely important but ultimately, we have been entrusted with all we have for much more than meeting our personal needs. 

When you have the mindset that all you have belong to GOD and you’re only a caretaker for Him, you will be freed from the bondage of materialism and self-focus // Life Lessons on Intentional Stewardship Click To Tweet

And when it comes to being intentional, your God-given purpose is ALWAYS greater than the man.

So understand that what you have is given. But what you make of it is even more critical. Don’t waste God’s trust in you.

We are servants, entrusted with God’s properties. So serve well where you are. 

Photo by Melyna Valle on Unsplash