Are You A Faithful Steward? : Luke 16:1-15

 As I read the Scripture passage in Luke 16 about stewardship, I was compelled to take inventory of my stewardship responsibilities. We are all stewards of some sort. If you are a parent, you are a steward over your children's lives until they become mature adults. If you are a business owner, you are a steward over your employees and customers as it relates to the goods and services you offer to the public. If you are a minister, you are a steward to minister to the needs of others. Our personal life, social life and family life, cannot be separated from the idea of stewardship. In Luke 16, Jesus shared a parable about a shrewd steward, but the focus in this reflection is on our personal "stewardship" responsibilities. Jesus said, "There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So, he called him in and asked him, "what is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer" (Luke 16:1-2).



 In American football, the quarterback's role consists of forward progression to get the ball down the field and to deliver the ball to the available receivers. The objective for each team is to win the game. Yet, each player has a particular role he must fulfil. Victory is dependent on all team members, but great reliance is placed on this quarterback. A demand is placed on him for his "ball" management skills in order to achieve victory. The same concept applies in a soccer game. The goalkeeper plays a critical role because he's the only player that can take up the ball within a certain zone of the field. He is responsible for that small space given to him to prevent the opposing team from scoring. He is the protector of the net behind him. Stewardship is required in every aspect of our lives.

 What has the Lord placed in your possession, or under your care? And how are you performing your stewardship responsibilities? As with the shrewd steward in the parable, we too will have to give an account of our management responsibilities. It may be the management of our time, our parental duties, or offices we are assigned to. Stewardship requires trust, care, wisdom, understanding, and the right attitude. And as Jesus said, "whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much" (Luke 16:10).

 We cannot compartmentalize our character. If we are dishonest stewards with our money, we will be dishonest stewards with the money of others. If we are dishonest in our marital, parental, or business relationships, such dishonesty may taint other areas of our character. We are all stewards, or for a better term, "Trustees" to whom certain responsibilities are committed into our trust. Let us make sure that we are meeting our obligations on a daily basis for the Lord's sake, so when he calls us in for an account we will hear, "well done my good and faithful servant."

 

R.G.  21/09/25

Image: Pixabay.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Heaven's Ambassadors: Luke 10: 1-20

Image
Christian believers are called “Ambassadors of Christ”. Now, when we understand the responsibilities of an Ambassador, we will take our duties more seriously. An Ambassador does not execute his or her duties in his country of citizenship. Their office is located in a foreign country that has diplomatic ties with their country. For example, an Ambassador of France, Spain, United States, Ireland, Scotland, Great Britain, Canada, India, South Africa, Israel, Jamaica, you name it, will not represent his or her country on that country's soil. Rather, such ambassador would be delegated to a foreign country as a representative of his or her country. In today’s Scripture from Luke, Jesus chose seventy-two believers and sent them out two by two to minister to unbelievers, the sick, and needy. They were sent out like doctors in a sick world. I like to call believers “Heaven's Paramedics”. We have the word of truth; we are the light of the world, the salt of the earth, and are connected...
Read more

The Assurance of the Godhead's Guidance: John 16:12-15

Image
I heard a minister say once that "Fear Not" is found 356 times in the Bible, once for everyday of the year. Another minister told me F.E.A.R. is the acronym for: False Evidence Appearing Real. When you combine these two statements, you could agree we need a "fear not" reminder daily, and quite often what we fear never comes to pass. Recently I sent an email to a friend to be forwarded to another friend. After I clicked the send button, I realized I sent it to the wrong person and the content of the email, if it was not understood properly, could create a problem between the person I accidentally sent it to and myself. I was in turmoil and my heart pounded exponentially. I could not pull it back, so I prayed, and prayed, and prayed some more for the Lord to give the recipient understanding, so that my email was not taken out of context.   That same day I received a message from the recipient and at first, she was a bit upset but asked for an explanation. I provided...
Read more

The Holy Spirit, My Defender: John 14:15-16, 23-26

Image
When I was in the first grade, my older sister was in the sixth grade at the same Primary School. She was an influential and confident individual among her peers, and that gave me assurance of the protection she provided for me as her baby brother. Every day during our lunch break, I visited my sister's classroom where she paraded me among her friends. I received all the smiles, squeezing of my cheeks, hugs, novelties and favours. However, the follow year my sister graduated and went to a High School, and I felt all alone. I had an older brother who attended the same school and was two grades ahead of me, but I did not get the same feeling of being protected as my sister provided. Whenever I had complaints, my brother simply said, "just deal with it kiddo." Then when I became an adult with a family, I developed the desire to provide and protect my loved ones. My mantra was: “You mess with my family; you're messing with me.” Yet as time goes by, I learned that life h...
Read more