According to the Bible, all Christians are to practice Biblical Stewardship. But what is stewardship? What does the Bible teach about it? This article will address that question.
What is Stewardship?
Stewardship is a practice performed by a steward. A steward is an individual who takes care of the property or possessions of another. This practice is called stewardship.
What is Biblical Stewardship?
When thinking about being a steward or stewardship, we often think of physical things such as property, money, and things of that nature. But there is another aspect of stewardship we don’t hear much about: we are to be stewards of one another.
After God created Adam, He said, “It is not good that the man should be alone… [Genesis 2:18]
So, God gave him a gift. He created the woman and blessed them both to be fruitful and multiply. Therefore, we are God’s creation—God’s property; life is a gift, and we are to care for ourselves and one another. Each individual we encounter is a gift, and we should treat them as such—that is, as much as possible.
Please observe what the Word of God says in Philippians 2:2-5: NKJV.
2. fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
3. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
4. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
5. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
To repeat verse 3, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.”
In other words, don’t be selfish, and don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than ourselves. This passage is about Biblical stewardship.
This is a command from the Scriptures—God’s Word. It covers a multitude of categories. But this article will only cover one.
One of the things that differentiates us from animals is the ability to communicate through speech. Speech is a beautiful gift. But like the other gifts God has bestowed upon us, the devil intervenes and turns it into something for ill—if we allow him to.
While this article is not about the tongue, it does address the topic of conversation. To a significant degree, our society and our culture have lost the art of conversation. Just as our culture has allowed our morality to go south, our fundamental upbringing and etiquette have gone with it.
To throw out a couple of questions for thought: when was the last time you were engaged in a conversation, and the person you were conversing with cut off your conversation and started talking before you finished your thought?
Here’s another one: when was the last time you were engaged in a conversation, and the person you were conversing with was speaking, and you cut them off before they finished their thought?
Now, all of us are guilty of this, which is wrong. Most were undoubtedly taught that when someone is speaking, you don’t interrupt but wait until the party has finished speaking. It was classified as rude. But it happens perpetually today amongst Christians as well as non-Christians.
There was a time when one interrupted another while speaking. The individual would say: excuse me, not to cut you off, or excuse me for cutting you off, or something to that effect. They acknowledged that they were doing something improper. But those days have gone with the Edsel, and we just butt in as a normal circumstance.
But it is time to understand when we engage in this behavior. When we cut off somebody’s speech, injecting our own, what we are demonstrating to that individual is what they are expressing doesn’t matter, that we don’t want to hear what that person is saying, and what we have to say is more important than what they are saying.
However, the Scripture says, “Do NOTHING out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” Understand that when we think what we have to say is more important than someone else, that is conceit; it’s arrogant and full of self-importance.
The Scripture mentions “selfish ambition.” This is a modern translation (New King James) of the Greek word. In the King James translation, the word is translated as strife; in the NIV translation, in Galatians 5:20, it is translated as selfish ambition and as one of the manifestations of the sinful nature. When we are so ambitious to say what we have to say that we disregard what someone else is saying, we operate in the work of the flesh. It’s evil.
Instead, we must consider others “better” than ourselves. What someone else has to say can be better than what we have to say, and we might learn something in the meantime. Listening is how we learn; we aren’t learning while talking. Listening is just as much of a gift as talking. After all, it is one of the basic five senses.
Sometimes, these interjections will take the conversation in another direction. There are occasions when an individual has been interrupted during a conversation and never finished their point because they were interrupted and the conversation took a turn in another direction. These interruptions can turn one off from listening; instead of listening, they only wait for a chance to make their point. This is an unholy conversation.
Not to make excuses, however; some engage in this because, on many occasions, if they don’t interrupt, they will never get to speak.
However, there’s also the other side of the coin. Some ensure not to get interrupted by not giving anyone else a chance to speak. The bottom line is that we unequivocally talk too much. Everybody is so busy talking instead of listening. We undeniably go on and on and on.
If we aren’t careful, we’ll talk ourselves in the middle of the Lake of Fire.
Jesus said in Matt 12:36, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”
Balance is the key to life, and we must listen as well as talk. We must be more willing to listen to what others have to say. Remember what verse 4 says, “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” Listen to what others have to say.
I mentioned Galatians 5 earlier, and I want to point out that verse 22 also lists the fruit or manifestations of the Spirit, including “patience” and “self-control.” If we exercised these in our conversations, everybody would have a chance to speak and listen.
We must remember what a conversation is: a verbal exchange between two or more individuals on a particular subject—two or more individuals. A conversation is not a monologue where one person does all the talking and the other or others do all the listening.
Listen to what the Scripture says in James 1:19, “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:” Here we have the wise counsel of James that advises us to reverse this process of talking too much and listening too little.
Rudeness in conversations can lead to wrath. One person cuts off another, then that person cuts off the first person, voices start to rise, and the next thing you know, an argument has ensued.
So, let us be mindful of our conversations and be considerate of the ones we are conversing with. We should put a mental stopwatch on our conversations and consider how much we talk and how much we listen.
When people talk with you, do they feel that their viewpoints and ideas have value? This goal can be accomplished only if they have been allowed to speak.
It is also important to examine at the end of a conversation: what did I gain from that conversation? Was it time well spent?
The Scripture says in 1 Cor 14:40, “Let all things be done decently and in order.” And this includes our conversations with one another.
Conclusion
God has given us each other. As good stewards, we must treat one another in all things, including our conversation, as the gift that God has given us, and as the Scripture says, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”
Amen.
Questions, comments, and concerns may be left below.
Blessings!
