What is missing from the financial talk today is the characteristic of stewardship. We can eliminate our financial worries if we can take the Bibles key point of stewardship. Psalm 24:1 declares that, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” Everything we have on this earth is the Lord’s. We do not own anything. We are managers of the earth and all the possessions therein. We are tenants. Everything belongs to God. The cars, houses, jobs and the money are all His. We cannot take it with us when we die. God allows us to use these things in order to bring Him glory and for our good. This is called stewardship. Stewardship is simply managing someone else’s resources to accomplish an objective. God is your source. It is your job to use or “re-source” the provision that God supplies. Therefore, your resources are God’s. He is the One who has given us all things. There are several characteristics of a good steward noted in the Bible. First, the steward must be faithful. 1 Corinthians 4:2 states, “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” It is the responsibility of the steward to become faithful with God’s resources. The steward does not squander God’s resources on frivolous things. The steward does not spend money like it is going out of style. He is faithful with what he is given. In other words, he acts and lives prudently based on a predetermined plan to accomplish a set goal. This brings me to my second characteristic of a good steward. A steward must have the ability to learn (educate himself). No one knows everything. Proverbs 24:5 states that, “A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increases strength.” We have to educate our mind to become mentally strong; when we become mentally strong, we are unstoppable and our knowledge increases. When we become more knowledgeable about our finances, our financial value will increase because we put the right investment in the right place.
The final characteristic of a good steward is that he takes risks. Since a steward is faithful and has the ability to learn, he must take a risk to see if the new area of investment will work. Ecclesiastes 11:6 says that, “In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.” To sow is to take a risk. Most of us do not take risks because we have not understood that it takes a risk to sow. Remember, stewardship is the managing of God’s resources. You have been given the ability to create a profit with the resources given to you by the Heavenly Father.
Cedric Dukes is an ordained deacon, author, speaker, and columnist. His book, Hostile Takeover – Manifesting God’s Plan and Purpose for Your Finances, has changed the way people think about finances and has been featured nationally. You may contact him at www.cedricdukes.com.
