Stewardship

by G. Prasher, Manchester, U.K. | Category: Never Man So Spake - Great Truths From The Lord's Min | Sept 1985

STEWARDSHIP AS SONS OF LIGHT

THE story of the unjust steward (Luke 16:1-13) brings into clear relief the contrast between worldly attitudes and the principles of stewardship which must always govern our service to the Lord Jesus.

How strikingly the Lord presented this truth! Let's be perfectly clear that He did not commend the dishonest actions of the unjust steward. The whole weight of His teaching in this passage is against such unrighteousness.

As His disciples we take earnestly to heart the directives He laid down "He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much (v.10).

Tests of the quality of our stewardship may often be "in a very little". Even small details of responsibility call for care to fulfil them as unto the Lord. Even minor matters of doctrine become a test of faithfulness to His Word. We shall never be the losers if fidelity to His truth results in a relatively small sphere of spiritual service. For it's the quality, not the size, which matters.

"If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who

will commit to your trust the true riches?" (v.11).

By "true riches" was the Lord referring to spiritual things of eternal value? Do we learn from this that righteousness of character in secular things is vital if we are to be given responsibility in spiritual things? Certainly this principle is seen in God's insistence that an elder of a church of God must be of the character described in 1 Tim. 3:1-7.

"If ye have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you

that which is your own"? (v.12)

Let us always remember that the Lord entrusts us with His things. We are "stewards of the mysteries of God" and "it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful" (1 Cor. 4:1,2). With some believers there's a tendency to discount the importance of what they regard as minor Bible truths. Agreement should be sought on such major truths as the Deity of Christ or the Atonement, they say, but matters like baptism or principles of gathering and service should not be made a hindrance to fellowship together in worship and witness. Yet these truths are among the things which the Lord has spoken. They belong to Him and have been given to us to keep (cf. John 17:6-8). As His stewards are

we not bound to be faithful in that which is His?

"No servant can serve two masters" (v.13)

Divided loyalty leads to unsatisfactory service, and the Lord rightly demands our whole heart. We cannot serve God and mammon. Let love of money grip our hearts and our service for Him will at once be compromised.

It's against this teaching in verses 10-13 that we should understand the Lord's remarks in verses 8 and 9. Verse 8, we suggest, illustrates the typical attitude of the worldly-wise. They seem to be wiser "for their own generation", ready to use unscrupulous means to get gain. By contrast to the principled conduct of the sons of light they appear in the short term to be wiser. But verse 9 challenges the folly of such attitudes when it comes to eternal issues. For how can so called "friends", made such by unrighteous means, be of any avail when entrance to the eternal tabernacles is involved? The Lord's statement in verse 9 would therefore appear to be in ironic vein.

FAITHFULNESS AND REWARD

The well known parables of the talents (Mat. 25:14-30) and the pounds (Luke 19:11-27) differ in detail, but the thrust of their message is similar. In their context they point primarily to the Lord's return as Son of Man, which helps to explain the judgement on the unprofitable servant in Mat. 25:30. This extreme penalty would seem inappropriate to a disciple in this age of grace. Yet certain principles of stewardship emerge from these parables for helpful application to our own experience as disciples, including the certainty that we too shall be called to account before the Lord for our service (Rom. 14:10, 2 Cor. 5:10).

From the parable of the pound, where each servant was given one pound, we're reminded of the responsibility placed on every disciple to produce some return for what the Lord has given. Each believer has the gift of the indwelling Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19), providing an ability to serve in some way for God's glory. None can rightly assume the attitude of the servant who did not even trouble to place his pound in the bank as an interest-bearing deposit. The parable of the talents emphasizes the varying degree of gift given to different disciples. More is expected from those who have been given more. Yet even from one talent some return is due. Limited gift may be used as an excuse for inactivity

in the Lord's things. Rather may it be true as was said of Mary: "She hath done what she could" (Mark 14:8).

Two further points call for brief comment. In both parables those servants who had gained by trading were commended for their faithfulness. The fruit of the Spirit includes this excellent quality of spiritual character (Gal. 5:22). How vital that we should be faithful to the whole counsel of God if our stewardship of the mysteries of God entrusted to us is to be adequately fulfilled!

A second point is the greatness of the reward compared with the degree of gain in trading. A pound gained brought authority over a city (Luke 19:17); faithfulness in a few things brought authority over many things (Mat. 25:21). Present sacrifice, labour and service may seem at times considerable; but faith declares with Paul: "I reckon that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to usward" (Rom.8:18); and again: "our light affliction, which is for the moment, worketh for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory" (2 Cor. 4:17).

FIRST LAST AND LAST FIRST

It's not hard to imagine the chorus of protest which greeted the householder of Mat. 20:1-15 when he paid the last of his workers. The group last paid had been hired early in the morning after agreeing to their wage for the day. During the course of the day the householder hired more people, some from 9 am, others from noon, others from 3 pm and some even from 5 pm. Yet all were paid the same wage. The early morning group felt a sense of injustice. "These last have spent but one hour", they complained, "and thou hast made them equal unto us which have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat". The husbandman explained to one of them: "Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst thou not agree with me for a penny? Take up that which is thine and go thy way: it is my will to give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? or is thine eye evil because I am good?" (Mat. 20:13-15).

Having told the parable the Lord added, "So the last shall be first, and the first last". This repeated what He said to the twelve as He introduced the parable. Peter had remarked that he and the other apostles had left all to follow Him. The Lord confirmed that they would be suitably rewarded in the coming kingdom, and that all who sacrificed for His Namesake would be richly compensated. "But", He added, "many shall be last that are first; and first that are last" (19:30). Salutary comment! How little at that point could the apostles appreciate of the Lord's sovereign purposes as He envisaged the vast spectrum of this dispensation of grace, followed by the time of the end and the establishment of the millennial kingdom. The Lord could anticipate the great host of dedicated disciples who throughout those eras would sacrificially serve in faithful stewardship. Among these was the apostle Paul who wrote: "Last of all, as unto one born out of due time, He appeared to me also" (1 Cor. 15:8). He was late on the scene compared with Peter, but could genuinely testify "I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me" (1 Cor. 15:10).

In its original context then, the parable of the labourers in the vineyard was to help the twelve apostles keep their own place of stewardship in truer perspective. The abiding lesson affects us all who claim to serve Him - whatever His will may be in regard to the commissioning of this servant or that, we gladly accept it. Why should we be resentful of His goodness to another? It's ours to serve thankfully in the assignments He has given, refusing to be disturbed by what may sometimes be difficult to understand - varying degrees of blessing in the salvation of souls; material prosperity or lack of it; extensive trial or relative tranquillity. He is our sovereign Master. "Is it not lawful", He reminds us, "to do what I will with Mine own?".

UNPROFITABLE SERVANTS

From Luke 17:7-10 comes another valuable reminder of the true perspectives of Christian stewardship. The apostles tended to forget their position as His bondservants, to be lifted up in spirit as they saw God working through them. They seemed at times to be expecting acknowledgement and praise. The Lord drew His illustration from a servant coming in from his farm work. He would not be invited to sit down for a meal, but would be expected rather to serve his master first. Nor would the master thank him for doing so: it was simply understood to be his duty. "Even so ye also, when ye shall have done all things that are commanded you, say: We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which it is our duty to do".

It was in this spirit that one of the greatest stewards of the mysteries of God could write, "In nothing was I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I am nothing" (2 Cor. 12:11). A humble, realistic appreciation of our nothingness apart from what He has made us will enable us to have this same attitude; an attitude so vital for acceptable service to Christ.

G. Prasher, Manchester, U.K. | Sept 1985
Never Man So Spake - Great Truths From The Lord's Min