8. Stewardship
| Peter Block (author of Stewardship and The Empowered Manager) has defined stewardship as "holding something in trust for another." Robert Greenleaf's view of all institutions was one in which CEO's, staffs, and trustees all played significant roles in holding their institutions in trust for the greater good of society. Servant-leadership, like stewardship, assumes first and foremost a commitment to serving the needs of others. |
| Larry Spears |
Stewardship is taking care of that which belongs to another. This basic meaning can take on different forms, such as taking care of someone else's money or goods, making responsible use of someone else's talents, or, to the Christian, taking good care of everything that God has entrusted to us: our money, our time, our talents, our entire lives.
Stewardship is a serious responsibility. Most people try to take good care of the things they own, they try to get the best interest on their money, they keep their cars well maintained, their houses and gardens in good shape, and so on. However, when we have been entrusted with looking after things that don't belong to us, we are usually even more careful. We would take extra care not to crash the car a friend let us borrow, and we wouldn't want to break anything in the house we are looking after while the owner is on vacation.
Just as we are careful with other people's material belongings when they have been put in our trust, we should sense the same responsibility in the other meanings of stewardship. For example, a manager who has been entrusted with the talents and careers of a number of employees should sense the responsibility of stewardship.
Paul made this rather clear in his first letter to the Corinthians (1Co 4:1-2):
1So look at Apollos and me as mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God's secrets. 2Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful.
Several other passages talk about the importance of stewardship, especially in proportion to how much has been given to us, and how much we are aware of our responsibilities. There is the warning in James 3:1, that teachers will be judged more strictly by God, and then there is this passage from the Gospel of Luke (Luk 12:47-48):
47The servant will be severely punished, for though he knew his duty, he refused to do it. 48"But people who are not aware that they are doing wrong will be punished only lightly. Much is required from those to whom much is given, and much more is required from those to whom much more is given.
Stewardship means doing the right thing when we are taking care of what belongs to others. Sometimes it is rather clear what the right thing is, such as in the story of the three servants who each were given a portion of their master's money (Mat 25:14-30). Two of the servants invested well what was given to them and doubled the money. They received the praise they deserved (Well done, my good and faithful servant, Mat 25:21), and were entrusted with greater responsibilities. The third servant, however, was afraid, hid the money, and had to return it without any gain. The consequences are summarized in Mat 25:29:
To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who are unfaithful, even what little they have will be taken away.
In other cases, however, the right thing to do may not be quite so obvious. Consider the story of the woman who poured a jar of expensive oil over Jesus' head (Mat 26:6-13). The disciples thought this was a terrible waste of good resources (Mat 26:8-9):
8The disciples were indignant when they saw this. "What a waste of money," they said. 9"She could have sold it for a fortune and given the money to the poor."
Yet, Jesus had a much different view, considered the woman's deed a good thing, and reprimanded the disciples for being critical of her (Mat 26:10-13):
10But Jesus replied, "Why berate her for doing such a good thing to me? 11You will always have the poor among you, but I will not be here with you much longer. 12She has poured this perfume on me to prepare my body for burial. 13I assure you, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman's deed will be talked about in her memory."
Another example where the right thing to be done was in question is the story of Mary and Martha (Luk 10:38-42). Jesus was visiting their home, and while Martha was busy preparing the dinner, Mary sat down and listened to Jesus' teaching. Martha thought that was unfair, but Jesus' tender answer is recorded as follows (Luk 10:41-42):
41But the Lord said to her, "My dear Martha, you are so upset over all these details! 42There is really only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it--and I won't take it away from her."
There is often a considerable emphasis on money when it comes to discussing stewardship. The last two examples, in contrast, speak to the stewardship of human resources. People, without doubt, are more important than money, or concerns about dinner preparations. An excellent example of what is expected of us when it comes to taking care of the needs of others is found in the book of Ezekiel (Eze 34:1-10). In a literal sense, these verses talk about taking proper care of sheep, but figuratively, they also apply to taking care of people (Jesus is our Good Shepherd). Eze 34:4 states the problem in no uncertain terms:
You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the broken bones. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with force and cruelty.
A few verses later, the consequences of this behavior are stated equally clearly (Eze 34:10):
This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I now consider these shepherds my enemies, and I will hold them responsible for what has happened to my flock. I will take away their right to feed the flock, along with their right to feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths; the sheep will no longer be their prey.
Peter echoes this theme in his first letter, and shows how stewardship is at the heart of servant leadership (1Pe 5:2-3):
2Care for the flock of God entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly--not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. 3Don't lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your good example.
Our calling, hence, is not just to care for and serve the people God has put in our trust, but to do it voluntarily, willingly, and gladly. This brings us back to the high standard that Robert Greenleaf has placed on true servant leadership with his quintessential definition [2]:
The servant-leader is servant first. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve. (emphasis added)
What does the calling to faithful stewardship mean to me personally? What am I supposed to be a good steward of?
Churches often talk about the three "T"s of stewardship: Tithes, Talents, and Time (not necessarily in that order). The Biblical tithe refers to giving a tenth of our money, and to discuss this much further here would digress too much from the focus of this essay. Making the best use of my time and talents is reflected in my mission statement, which I shared in chapter 6:
To glorify God, by using my talents for the benefit of mankind, and by loving and serving those whom God has put in my care
Better time management must be near the top of most people's wish lists these days. Perhaps the common "I'm sorry, but I'm too busy" is one of the most prominent characteristics to define people in our time. Stephen Covey, in "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" [8] offers advice in the form of a time management matrix. Tasks are grouped into four quadrants according to whether they are urgent or not urgent, and whether they are important or not important. Being aware of this grouping of tasks helps to establish a proper balance, and to get the important things done without excessive stress or burnout.
Here are a few more specific examples of things or people that I am a steward of:
- God has entrusted to me as a husband one of his most wonderful creations, my beautiful and lovely wife Michele. Not only am I to provide for her financially and materially, but I am to nurture and encourage her God-given talents, vocations, and pursuits.
- As an employee of the Protein Data Bank, a public database, I am a steward of other people's data, and I am entrusted with both archiving and safekeeping it as well as making it publicly available to the best use for our society.
- Since our project is supported by government grants, I am ultimately a steward of taxpayers' money, and have a responsibility to fullfil our mission, and guarantee the public the best "return on investment" for their tax dollars.
- As a project coordinator and team member I am a steward of my co-workers' time and talents, and I should take care that their skills and time are being used in the most effective and beneficial ways possible (for their own good as well as for the good of the entire project).
- Living on the earth that God has created and over which He has given us dominion, I am to be a responsible steward of the earth's environment and not to be wasteful with its resources.
The list could go on and on. The point of this chapter is that everything is on loan to us from God, and that we have a high calling to be good stewards of that which has been entrusted to us. In this sense, while money matters, people are the most important, and hence the servant leader has a serious responsibility to be a steward of human resources, that is the organization's people, and their time and talents.
For Thought and Discussion
- Do you remember a time when someone else did not take good care of something you had entrusted to them? How did it make you feel? Does God feel the same way if we don't take good care of the things he has entrusted to us?
- Make a list of the things and people in your care. Now evaluate your stewardship of each of the items on your list. Where do you do well? Where could you improve? How?
- Read the twelfth chapter of Romans (Rom 12), and the twelfth chapter of the first letter to the Corinthians (1Co 12). What do these chapters teach us about stewardship with respect to our talents and spiritual gifts?
