Stewardship

---

The Vertical Word Puzzle

We are living at a time when the spirit of materialism has caught an enormous momentum. The wave is so strong and the pace so fast that many people are being swept downstream. The tragedy is that materialism has been cleverly spiritualized in a way that makes it difficult to draw the line between where it is an aberration and where it is a blessing. To many, it is as difficult to tell a deceptive teaching on material prosperity as it is telling where the tail of a snake begins.

There is no denial that prosperity is the same multiplicity God talked about at the inception of life. Nevertheless, there has been an overemphasis on and a pursuit of material prosperity.

It is the aim of this book to emphasize that the teaching about stewardship and the practice of the same are what we need. When this is done, the following will happen:

 i) Material prosperity will emerge as a necessary consequence of good management (stewardship). It will follow rather than lead the way;

ii) Prosperity will be released from the confines of materialism. This will put material prosperity into perspective, proving further that prosperity is much broader than what majority of people take it to be;

iii) The believer will understand that there is no point comparing ourselves with one another because each person is given his own ability and a specific assignment corresponding to the said ability. But even if two people have identical assignments, the level of their motivation may vary. At the end of the day, their standard is Christ. He is the One whose standards believers should compete;

iv) The reader will understand that there are different departments of stewardship. This in turn will help him avoid ‘misappropriation;’

v) The believer will understand that it is not the magnitude of the assignment that ought to be the mobilizing and motivating factor, rather it is the fact that the assignment is from the Lord Jesus.

In word puzzle, there are words that will automatically fall into place when you fill out the others correctly. Life, generally, and stewardship, in particular, is like filling out a word puzzle. If we get it right vertically, we will definitely get it right horizontally (across). Why vertical? Vertical axis represents our relationship with God. Horizontal axis represents our relationship with one another and our environment. If we get it right with God, we will automatically get it right with one another and our environment. This doesn’t necessarily mean that everybody will appreciate the way we relate with them. They may deny the virtues we portray and ridicule the values we advocate. This, however, is just because they live in denial or rebellion, otherwise when the day of reckoning comes, they will indeed give God the glory for what we represented. God Himself has declared that He will be exalted among the heathen, and He will be exalted in the earth (Psalm 46:10). As stewards, we have to do our part as God does His part to communicate with the inner man of the ungodly.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”—Matthew 5:16.

“Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.” —1 Peter 2:12.

A good steward persistently does his work whether he is appreciated or not. We all know that light attracts attention. You become very visible when there is a lot of light around you. And it is equally known that people who live and take pleasure in the works of darkness hate light. That is why some people may see the light that so shines before them but they may not promptly appreciate it. Instead, they may even talk ill about you and what you are doing. In their heart, they know that what you are doing is right because their conscience will bear them witness. God gets His glory from what people ‘hide’ in their heart. A day will come though when what has been hidden in the heart will come out. As apostle Peter puts it, ‘the day of visitation’ will get the confessions out even among reluctant sceptics. The apostle Paul also confirms that this should happen (Philipp. 2:9-11).

A good steward is not primarily motivated or demoralized by what people say. He does his work as unto the Lord. There are times when we have to do our work even when no one acknowledges it, or when they jeer instead of cheer.

“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.” —Colossians 3:23-24.

Again, if we use the analogy of the word puzzle, understanding stewardship is like correctly filling out vertical word puzzles where when we are done we get surprised that the word prosperity has emerged as a horizontal word in the puzzle. But I must make haste to point out that prosperity is not just about property.

If prosperity is a tree, stewardship is its root; if prosperity is a skyscraper, stewardship is its foundation. It is a tragedy waiting to happen for a tree to grow tall without growing deep roots to anchor it; it is a disaster waiting to happen to raise a skyscraper into the sky without deep foundation into the ground to secure it.

Get it right in stewardship and you will not go wrong in prosperity and general relationship with God. A scribe asked Jesus: “Which is the first commandment of all?” Jesus answered him that the most important commandment is to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength” (Mark 12:28-30). You can as well say that the first thing in your life is your relationship with God. Relationship with others and the material world take the cue thereafter.

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE AS A MEMBER OR VISITOR