Your money or your life?

My best guess would be that it is the least favorite sermon topic to the average church attender. What am I talking about? Money, of course. But why it is the least favorite topic of those who sit in the pew, do you realize that money was one of the most favorite topics of Jesus when He walked one earth? Jesus talked about money in 16 out of his 38 parables. That means that 42% of his parables included teaching on money. Imagine what would happen if four out of every ten sermons I preached was on the topic of money. The truth is that the Bible has much to say about money. On the average, one out of every ten verses in the Gospels deals with money. Overall, there are over 2,000 verses in the Bible that deals with money or possessions while there are only 500 verses that deal with prayer. Why did Jesus talk about money so much? Why must we be sure to teach accurately on this subject as well today? Because without question, money is one of the hardest things there is to give over to the Lordship of Christ in our lives.

In First Corinthians 4:1-4, Paul states that we are both servants and stewards. The word servant here speaks of an under-rower. This was the lowest level of oarsmen on the big ships of that day. These were usually manned by slaves and it was by far the worst position on the ship. Stewardship doesn’t begin with our money. Stewardship begins by recognizing that, like under-rowers of old, we are to be completely subordinate in every area of our life to Christ as our Master.

The word steward speaks of a “house manager.” Like Joseph was to Potiphar in the Old Testament (Genesis 39), a house manager owns nothing but is put in charge of all of his master’s possessions. The house manager’s job is to care for all of these items in such a way that his master prospers. The same is true for us as Christians. We own nothing. All that we have comes from God and belongs to God. Our job is to use all which God gives us in such a way that His Kingdom prospers. That’s stewardship. It is the proper management of my life in order to enhance the Kingdom of God. Stewardship must first recognize that God owns everything (Psalm 24:1). Stewardship must then see our position as a sacred trust (First Timothy 6:20). Finally, stewardship must also realize that I have a personal responsibility to be a good steward (notice how we move from the plural in verse 1 to the singular in verse two of First Corinthians 4).

And what is the greatest quality of a steward? According to First Corinthians 4:2, it is that we are found to be faithful. The greatest quality of a steward is not brilliance, cleverness, creativity or popularity. It’s faithfulness. Faithfulness is essential. You can see it in the life of Timothy (First Corinthians 4:17). You can see it in the life of Epaphras (Colossians 1:17). You can see it in the life of Paul (First Corinthians 7:25). And you can see it in the life of Tychicus (Colossians 4:7). The big question today my friend is, can it be seen in you? Can it be seen in me?

Stewardship isn’t about your money. That’s way too simple. Anyone can write a check. Stewardship goes much deeper. It costs far more. Stewardship is about your very life.