STUDIES ON STEWARDSHIP

By Davis W. Huckabee

Stewardship is something that concerns every child of God that has ever walked the face of the earth, or that ever will. Yet there is a sad misunderstanding of what stewardship is, what the standard for it is, who are to be stewards, what stewardship is concerned with and what the rewards for stewardship are. All these things we propose to answer from Scripture in the course of this study.

It is the mistaken idea of many that when stewardship is mentioned, it has reference only to tithing—the giving of one tenth of one’s income to the Lord’s work. But while this is involved in it, it occupies only a minor part in stewardship. It is because of this mistaken idea that when it is announced that the sermon will be on stewardship, the carnal and greedy hearers will usually say, or at least think, "That greedy preacher is trying to preach more money out of us again." But it remains to be seen who is the truly greedy person, the one that preaches the truth at the Spirit’s insistence, or the person that, against the truth, refuses to render an honest accounting to his Creator. I have never heard of a preacher preaching on a commission basis, and so the preacher isn’t enriched by an increase in the church finances.

Stewardship is important, not only for the furtherance of Christianity, but it is important to the individual Christian, for stewardship is what might well be called "The Gauge of Godliness." R. B. C. Howell of the 1800’s has well said:

But who is able and will do nothing, manifests an indifference, and a spirit of disobedience to Christ, inconsistent with religion. What a man contributes for the cause of Christ, is proof of what he feels. He feels no more than he does; and he that does nothing feels nothing, and should be permitted to profess nothing. Thus in support of the gospel, our love to God is thoroughly tested on the principle that a "tree is known by its fruit."—The Deaconship, p. 110.

How one discharges his stewardship will usually be indicative of his affection for his Lord. We say usually, for there are those that are grossly ignorant of their duty in this matter, which might affect the motivation to a great extent. Alas, a genuine stewardship is not very common in these days of material wealth and spiritual poverty. "What the world is waiting to see is a Christianity that goes into the everyday lives of men in real power. A genuine stewardship would produce just such a Christianity."— C. C. Cook, Stewardship And Missions, p. 163.

In considering this great subject of stewardship it is necessary that we first have an adequate conception of what we are dealing with, and so therefore we believe that the defining of terms is first in order.

CHAPTER ONE

WHAT IS STEWARDSHIP?

The Greek word that is translated "stewardship" (oikonomia) is found in the New Testament eight times. The word for "steward" (oikonoinos) appears ten times, although in neither case is either word always so translated. However the basic meaning will be the same in every case.

I. WHAT IS MEANT BY THE TERM?

The Greek word so rendered means the management or superintendence of a household. A steward is, therefore, one that has the administration or oversight of the property of another committed to him. The things that enter into this office are set forth by E. M. Thresher as follows.

Stewardship may then be understood to mean the tenure of an office of high trust and responsibility in the interest of the one from whom the commission has been received, and for whose exclusive benefit it is administered. There is in this, first, the suggestion of occupancy. The steward is in full possession and control. He stands in the place of the owner, and is clothed with his rights and duties in his absence. Second, responsibility is implied. The steward is to care for the estate, keeping it in good order and condition, guarding it against all depredation and waste, and improving every opportunity for advancement and profit. Third, freedom of action is implied in order that the steward may administer his trust with fidelity, wisdom and enterprise, which are essential to the proper discharge of the duties of his office. Fourth, there is accountability. The occupancy of the steward, though it may be long continued and uninterrupted, is, nevertheless, temporary. It must at some time come to an end. He is the servant of his lord, holding his position as a tenant as will, ready at any time to surrender his trust, and give a full and just account of its administration to him from whom he received it." —quoted in C. C. Cook’s Stewardship And Missions, pp. 30-31.

We see a clear exemplification of the stewardship of material things in the parable our Lord set forth in Luke 16:1-13. From it we may notice the following things. (1) The steward had his master’s good committed to his care and use. (2) He used these, not for his master’s good, but for his own selfish use. (3) In time his master sent word that there must be an accounting made. (4) When this accounting was called for, it was then too late to try to be a good and faithful steward. (5) This steward chose to further cheat and defraud his master. This parable has sometimes been greatly misunderstood, and its interpretation perverted. Some mistake the commendation of the unjust steward by his master for a commendation of such actions by the Lord Jesus. Such is not the meaning of V8.

Our Lord used this parable to instruct His disciples about stewardship, Vi. (1) He intimated that they were, in some sense, stewards also, V9. (2) Rather than giving themselves over to the riches of unrighteousness, He commanded them to use it rather to make friends—spiritual friends. The things of this world are not evil in themselves, but they are often put to an evil use. This is what He warns against. Covetousness is expressly called idolatry in Eph. 5:5; Col. 3:5, et al. But there is a way in which a person can "lay up treasures in heaven," Matt. 6:20, but it is the only way. That is by using them for God’s glory while here below. (3) He declared that these riches would at best give but temporary satisfaction, for whether we read "when ye fail," or as the alternate reading, "when it shall fall," the result is the same, man and his wealth shall ultimately be separated. "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world... And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever," I John 2:15, 17. (4) That "mammon" of unrighteousness that has been used in God’s service, however, will have made friends that will, upon the faithful steward’s death, receive him into everlasting habitations with great joy. (5) The Lord shows that stewardship is not something that concerns only great wealth, but is that which starts with the first and smallest acquisition that a believer receives, V10. The elder Rockefeller testified that he would never have tithed on 1.5 million dollars had he not tithed on the first $1.50 that he made. (6) He declares that one’s stewardship on earth will have a great bearing upon one’s heavenly inheritance, Vi 1-13. The present stewardship is a test before we reach our inheritance, V12. (7) The love of the things of the world, and the love of the Father are incompatible, V13; I John 2:15.

The term "steward" as applied to believers is further explained by a passage in I Pet. 4:10. "As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." Here, stewardship is again the ministering, or using, of that which God has given to us. It matters not how small or how great it may be, nor whether it be of a personal, mental or spiritual nature, it is to be administered for the Lord. We trust that in further studies on this subject we may touch upon all the more common realms in which stewardship is to be administered. But for the present we must by-pass this and consider—

II. WHAT IS THE BASIS OF STEWARDSHIP?

One of the most common excuses for not using one’s material things for the Lord’s glory is that, "I worked hard for what I have and it’s mine to do with as I please." But this fails to take into consideration a great number of Scriptures that speak to the contrary. We cannot but realize if we study the Scriptures, that nothing that we possess is really our own. Several things are involved in stewardship, but there is one thing that is chief.

First, the recognition of the great truth of God’s ownership of all things. God is owner. He alone is the absolute Proprietor of all things. Constantly is the divine ownership taught in the Scriptures. "And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up mine hand unto the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth" (Gen. 14:22). "Thine, 0 Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, 0 Lord, and thou art exalted as head above All. Both riches and honor come of thee... For all things come of thee and of thine own have we given thee" (I Chron. 29:11-14). "The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof" (Ps. 24:1). "For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills" (Ps. 50:10). "The silver is mine and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts" (Hag. 2:8). God allows man to use his possessions, but he never surrenders his ownership. We are not owners, for we brought nothing into this world, and we can take nothing out. What we use and enjoy was all here before we came."—C. C. Cook, Stewardship and Missions, p. 33.

In a word, the basis of stewardship is that God owns all things in the world, and we only have them at His hand. When these are committed to our use, we are under obligation to use them for His glory. No good thing do we have but it comes from God. "Every good gilt and every perfect gift is from above, and come down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning," James 1:17. The only thing that we can claim as our own is sin.

For a person to claim that "I have worked for what I have, and no one but me has a right to it," is not new. It has always been the attitude of utterly selfish people. In David’s day it was the same, for Nabal manifested the same utterly selfish spirit. "Shall I then take my bread and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?" I Sam. 25:11. And again the rich fool was of a like spirit. "And he thought within himself, saying, what shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow all my fruits. And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry," Luke 12:17-19.

Like so many persons today, both these men left God completely out of their thinking; everything revolved around themselves. There is not a particle of evidence that either of these men obtained what they had by fraudulent or oppressive means. That was not their sin. Their sin was that they refused to acknowledge God’s ownership of all things and His involvement therein. In spite of all their selfish care for the things they possessed, they both lost everything in a moment of time.

Sad to acknowledge, many professing Christians take almost this same attitude with regard to the things that they possess. They assume that of their own power, wisdom, ability and zeal they have amassed what they have, but not so do the Scriptures teach. They teach that man is not to say "in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth the power to get wealth," Deut. 8:17-18.

Some most probing questions that such a person needs to ask himself are the following. Who caused me to be born with the mental capability of learning the trade that I now exercise? And who brought the school or college near to where I lived so that I could learn the trade adequately to get my job? And who supplied the funds for me to take the training to fit me for this occupation? And who brought this company into my community so that I would have an opportunity to apply for a job? And who gave me favor in the employer’s eyes so that he would hire me when I applied for the job? Many a gifted prospective employee is rejected simply because the boss does not like his looks or attitude or for some other extraneous reason. And who continually keeps me in health so that I can hold my job? For many willing to work do not have the bodily health to hold a job. And on and on and on we might go with other such questions, but everyone needs to realize that the denial of God’s relevance in every aspect of human life is basically atheistic though it may be done in an endeavor to avoid responsibility.

The day that we fully realize God’s ownership over all things, that day we will realize that nothing that comes to our hands is to be used selfishly but that we are to administer it all for the Lord. This is the essence of stewardship. "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God," I Cor. 10:31.

III. WHO HAS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF STEWARDSHIP?

It is the mistaken idea of many that only a select few are specially chosen to be stewards, and that the rest are completely free to do whatsoever their greed dictates. But stewardship is not even restricted to the believer. It is a duty incumbent upon every rational creature on the earth. We grant that the world never takes thought of its stewardship responsibility, but this does not relieve it of that duty. Neither does the world take thought of its universal responsibility to submit itself to God and to worship and serve Him, but the responsibility is still there nonetheless. Our Lord said, "That servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit thing worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more," Luke 12:47-48.

Several things are presented to us here. (1) Every one that has received anything from the Lord is accountable as a steward. (2) The degree of responsibility is commensurate with the degree of committal. (3) Ignorance may affect the degree of guilt but not the fact of the guilt in the neglect of stewardship. (4) All are accountable, but the more one knows of his accountability, the more accountable he is before God.

This brings us to speak of another thing. Some think to excuse their negligence on the plea that, ~ not under law but under grace." That is a true statement, but what does this prove? That all responsibilities are removed? That because we are freely saved by grace through faith without the deeds of the law, we should b~ basely ungrateful, and refuse to serve the Lord at all? Certainly not! Grace does not free from stewardship, it obligates one to be a steward. Just as the above cited verse says, Where there is much given, there much more will be required.

Failure in stewardship matters, whether it concerns the individual, the church, or the nation, always brings judgment. The fact that judgment has not fallen only proves that the fonal accounting has not yet come, not that God takes no knowledge of man’s unfaithfulness. The misappropriation of the things of God, and their use for selfish purposes only was the sad mistake of Israel. It was the folly of the Laodicean church, which so aptly pictures the religious world today. In each case, the result was judgment upon the offenders.

But while stewardship is the universal responsibility of man, it devolves especially upon the Christian, for he cannot be classed as one who "knew not his master’s will." By the very fact of one being born again and being indwelt by the Holy Spirit the genuine saint cannot plead ignorance of his responsibility. The very fact that he is a Christian puts him under a greater responsibility to not only be a steward, but to be a good steward. We should be good stewards because we belong to God on a seven-fold ground. We are God’s by right of: (1) Election, I Pet. 1:2. (2) Creation, Acts 17:28-29. (3) Redemption, I Pet. 1:18-19; I Cor. 6:19-20. (4) Adoption, Gal. 4:5-6. (5) Sanctification, Heb. 10:10, 14; I Pet. 1:2. (6) Preservation, I Pet. 1:5; II Tim. 4:18. And finally, (7) Translation, Heb. 11:5; Phil. 3:2 1.

Stewardship is every one’s responsibility. But more specifically, it is my responsibility, and I shall never be a good steward until I see it in this light. No doctrine can have any force so long as we view it only abstractly. It must be viewed in the light of personal responsibility.

IV. WHAT IS THE STANDARD FOR STEWARDSHIP?

When we come to the question of the standard for our stewardship, a great number of people would like to think that it is solely on the basis of personal inclination that we are to discharge our stewardship. But this is a great error. Just as the administrator of an estate is bound by the wishes of the one to whom the estate belongs so the Christian is bound by the wishes of his Lord. One thing for certain, there will be no interest accrued where there has been no investment. This is declared in the Scriptural in several places. "...Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap," Gal. 6:7. "But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully," II Cor. 9:6.

Any farmer knows that he must invest his seed, time and labor if he expects to see an increase of his crops. He knows too that if he, through fear of the outcome, only risks enough seed to plant two or three acres, he can only expect a correspondingly small return. But those that sow bountifully have much greater expectation of return. There were a number of large wheat farms where this writer had his first ministry, and he has seen farmers drilling wheat with three eighteen foot drills hooked in parallel so that a fifty-four foot wide strip was drilled every round. Such men had a large expectation because they sowed bountifully. Many Christians are afraid to take God at His word. Their attitude seems to be that any money, time, labor, talent, etc., that is put into the Lord’s work, is just so much wasted time, effort and money. But this is an erroneous idea. There is nothing that is done for the Lord, but shall be repaid many-fold. God shall never be any man’s debtor. It may be that a man will not see the return of his investment in this life, but there shall ultimately be a dividend paid.

It is the practice of many persons to want to give God the "leftovers," that is, if there is anything left after they have bought everything they want, they are willing to give that to the Lord. How shameful! This is nothing but "tipping" God, treating Him as an insignificant menial, to whom any little bone or crumb should be appreciated. Others act the part of tramps, always asking and expecting to receive things, but never returning anything to God’s work.

Is there, then a standard by which we may judge of our stewardship, and to which we should conform our stewardship? Certainly there is. Most people, because of the basically greedy nature of man, just don’t want to know the standard, "Upon the first day of the week let every one of’ you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come," I Cor. 16:2. Here are stewardship requirements. However man may assail this passage, its stewardship force cannot be denied. Because the word "tithe" isn’t in this verse nor even the idea of tithing, some people treat it as though it had no application to them whatsoever. But actually, this has more force than if it contained the word "tithe". This goes beyond the tithe, for it deals with stewardship in general. The primary use of the tithe is for the support of the local ministry, as we learn from I Cor. 9:13-14, but I Cor. 16:2 deals with a ministry outside of the local assembly, and in addition to it.

From I Cor. 16:2 we note the following standards are set. (1) As to time: "upon the first day of the week." Sunday, when God’s people come together to worship Him, they are to worship Him in their temporalities as well as in the Spirit. (2) As to persons:

it is to be universal in the church: "Let every one of you." No exceptions are made for those who are poor, nor for those who are rich, nor even for those who have paid their tithe. All are responsible to give of their abundance. (3) As to purpose: "Lay by him in store... that there be no gatherings when I come." There was a definite need at this time, and Paul had already once written to Corinth telling them of it. This was not a collection for the local ministry, which Paul had already explained was to be paid in regularly just as it was done in Old Testament days, I Cor. 9:1-14; Mal. 3. This was a collection for the destitute saints in Judaea, to which Paul also referred in his second Epistle, II Cor. 9:1-5. There are always needs in the Lord’s service, and blessed is that church that joyfully takes a special offering to meet these.

But we must ask, In what sense can a man "lay by himself in store" (for that is the meaning of the Greek reflexive pronoun)? He truly "lays by himself in store" any time he acts the good steward and reinvests his Lord’s wealth in the Lord’s work. It is parallel to what our Lord said, "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal," Matt. 6:20. The reference is not to laying up for one’s self money at home, nor in the bank, for these could be done conveniently on any day of the week. But the investment in the Lord’s work is to be done when believers meet together on the Lord’s Day/

(4) As to proportion—"As God hath prospered him." The literal rendering is, "Whatsoever he may by prosperity have acquired," but the meaning is the same as the English version, for there is no prosperity but from God. Any time we are prospered more than usual, it is for the purpose of our using it in God’s service, as Paul wrote. "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that (Greek hina—a clause of purpose showing the purpose of God making all grace abound toward us) ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work," II Cor. 9:8.

The parable of the ten pounds should be read in connection with the standard for stewardship (Luke 19:12-26). Without quoting the passage, we may note some of its teachings. (1) The master gave to each servant a certain amount. Some more, some less, according to their individual ability and capacity. Cf. Matt. 25:14-15. (2) They were commanded to "Occupy till I come," V13. (3) There came a time of accounting, V15. (4) Each one was expected to render an increase on what had been committed to him. (5) The one that had gained ten-fold, and the one that had gained five-fold received the same commendation, for both had been equally faithful according to their individual abilities. (6) The servant that hid the pound, and didn’t use it at all was pronounced a wicked servant, and lost what had been committed to him, V22. How much more is that person a wicked servant that uses that which is the Lord’s "wholly for self?" (7) The faithful discharge of stewardship will bring about greater commitments and opportunities, V26.

In a word, the standard for stewardship is faithfulness. "Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful," I Cor. 4:2. But what would be faithfulness in one person may amount to slackness in another. It might be a great sacrifice for one person to give ten dollars a week, and another might give a hundred a week, and still be unfaithful because that amount might not comprise even one percent of his income. "Let it be remembered that it is the duty of the rich to make sacrifices for Christ as much as it is the duty of the poor."—C. C. Cook, Stewardship and Missions, p. 108.

We have dealt more at length with stewardship in material things in this first study than we had intended, but it is hard to view stewardship apart from finances. Nor is this out of line with our Lord’s teachings, for almost half of the parables were directly concerned with money, and others had to do with it indirectly. The cause of Christ is the greatest business in the world, but being a business, it takes finances, time, effort, etc. How we take care of these things shows how much we really care about them. Stewardship is indeed "The Gauge of Godliness," for it shows how much we are willing to give up for the Lord. It shows the extent of our self-denial.

What kind of a steward are you? Are you a faithful steward, one to whom the Lord shall say "Well done, thou good and faithful servant?" Or are you the sort that He will be constrained to call a "wicked and slothful servant?"

We need to instill stewardship responsibilities in our children when they are young, for "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much," Luke 16:10. The basic groundwork is laid when children are young. They will follow the pattern to which they are trained. Let us therefore "Bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord," Eph. 6:4