“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?”
Luke 16:10 (ESV)
What do I need to be stewarding? What does stewarding even mean as a Christian?
Stewarding is to manage something responsibly with careful thought. Anything that God has placed in your life must be stewarded with great care. That includes: How you treat your Spouse, Children, Family, (if you do not yet have a spouse, your season of singleness must be stewarded well), Your Education, Your Car, Your Spiritual Gifts, Your Talents, Your Money, Your Job, Your Physical & Emotional Health, etc. These five points I am giving you are from experience. Everything I write is what God has taught me.
So How Do I Steward My Season Well?:
#1- Don’t Complain
“Soon the people began to complain about their hardship, and the LORD heard everything they said. Then the LORD’s anger blazed against them, and he sent a fire to rage among them, and he destroyed some of the people in the outskirts of the camp. Then the people screamed to Moses for help, and when he prayed to the LORD, the fire stopped. After that, the area was known as Taberah (which means ‘the place of burning’), because fire from the LORD had burned among them there.”
Numbers 11:1-3 (NLT)
God is our source and we must care for the resources that God has created and put into our lives for a purpose. Sometimes the same things that we prayed for are the things that we are complaining about after we received what we trusted in God for. I had to do a serious heart check not too long ago. I came into this season trusting God for a new job, and the same job that I received after I prayed and fasted for, I was complaining about. Why do we do this? Why are we so forgetful of the good things that God has done in our lives? Once I realized that I was complaining, The Holy Spirit convicted me severely, and I repented and asked God to help me steward my season well. The Holy Spirit was teaching me to be careful with the things I speak when I step into a new season. There are different seasons that we step into, whether that be literally the seasons changing, but spiritually we enter different seasons too. When you step into a new season God is examining the way that you treat what He has blessed you with. Are you going to be faithful with the little? When God blesses you with much are you going to be complaining about what you see? Let us not be people who complain, but present your requests to God.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV)
Notice that the scripture does NOT say ‘demand what you want from God’. It says ‘by prayer and supplication WITH THANKSGIVING let your requests be made known to God.’ Supplication means to ask with a humble heart. You see God listens to all that we say and think, but what really moves God is a humble and thankful heart. So thank God for what you have today.
#2- Do NOT create Idols
“Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”
Exodus 20:5-6 (CSB)
Although God is a jealous God–He is also faithful and just. Anything that takes first place in your life is an idol if it is not God first. God is a gracious God who is full of mercy and so deserving of our praise. He does not deserve to be last place in your life. We do not give God our leftovers, we give Him our first fruits. Giving God our first fruits is the equivalent of giving Him our attention first, giving Him our time first, giving Him our worship first, giving Him our best first. We are not to wait until we have our time first, because you can make your own self an idol as well–this is called selfishness, we as Christians should put God as leader in our life. This is hard, especially if you were like me at one point and you liked to be in the driver’s seat because you felt in control–but eventually I had to let go of the wheel and submit to God’s plan for my life, because God is the one in control of everything, which means He knows everything, I don’t. (If you would like to know more about the idols that we can create if we are not careful–-Go read my blog post on Unconscious Idols here.)
“Honor the LORD with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest; then your barns will be completely filled, and your vats will overflow with new wine.”
Proverbs 3:9-10 (CSB)
Giving honor to God is not just a one time thing–the Word says ‘of your entire harvest.’ A harvest lasts a season. Are you honoring God just once–or are you continuously honoring Him daily throughout the seasons He’s placed you in? There are many different ways to interpret this scripture–and God allowed me to see this scripture from a new lens: When you give God honor, by giving Him your first fruits (your very best to offer to Him), He will fill your barns (your heart), and your vats (your spirit) will overflow with new wine (The Light of Jesus inside of you). God wants to transform you. Let go of every idol and anything that is hindering your relationship with God.
#3–Check Your Heart Condition
“Be careful that there isn’t this wicked thought in your heart, ‘The seventh year, the year of canceling debts, is near,’ and you are stingy toward your poor brother and give him nothing. He will cry to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty. Give to him, and don’t have a stingy heart when you give, and because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you do.”
Deuteronomy 15:9-10 (CSB)
This scripture teaches us to examine our hearts when we give and why we do things. It is important that before we do anything we must have the right heart posture, whether that be serving others, or giving offerings to the LORD. God knows the heart of man (Psalm 139:11-12). If you do not have a heart posture that is pleasing to the LORD, if you are “serving” others from what looks like service on the outside but you are not operating in love in your heart to serve others–your “service” is in vain. (1 Corinthians 13:1-13).
Matthew 23:1-7, “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples: ‘The scribes and the Pharisees are seated in the chair of Moses. Therefore do whatever they tell you, and observe it. But don’t do what they do, because they don’t practice what they teach. They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry and put them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them. They do everything to be seen by others: They enlarge their phylacteries* and lengthen their tassels. They love the place of honor at banquets, the front seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by people.” -CSB
*Phylacteries are a small box that contains Hebrew text that the Pharisees would wear as a reminder to keep the law of God, but because the Pharisees did not walk in the way of God they needed this “reminder.” If you truly are walking in the way of God you will not need a reminder to walk in His ways, because you will be walking in love. Check your heart. (Read Genesis 4:1-16).
#4–Serve Others
“Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God. If anyone speaks, let it be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, let it be from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.”
1 Peter 4:10-11 (CSB)
When you truly love God and have a relationship with Him you will learn to serve others in love. Remember that you are not serving others to do it for attention or to get a thank you back; you serve others because you want to make God happy. Our goal should be to move God’s heart–to love Him and be more like Jesus everyday, not to get approval from man.
“Serve with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to people, knowing that whatever good each one does, slave or free, he will receive this back from the Lord.”
Ephesian 6:7-8 (CSB)
#5–Be Content With What You Have
“Keep your life free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you. Therefore, we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
Hebrews 13:5-6 (CSB)
Being content in the season you are in is so important. In today’s society and the way technology has advanced over time, it has taught people to never be satisfied. It is so easy to fall into that trap of discontentment, because everything in society is created in a way that is always upgrading and advancing just about every year. What was in style last year, is not in style this year. Discontentment doesn’t just have to do with something you bought, it also deals with where you are in life. Maybe right now, you are going through a rough patch, struggling financially, or you’re not where you want to be right now. Regardless of what you are going through, when you find contentment in your season, you have a deep peace in your heart where you know that although things are a little rough, I know that God’s got this all I need to do is trust in Him and be still. (If you want to know more about Finding Contentment in Every Season. Read my blog post on Contentment here.)
