Beyond Finances, Part 1: The Scope of Biblical Stewardship
17 Mar 2023 - Michael Hess II
Most lifelong Christians have probably encountered numerous sermons, articles, and Bible lessons about stewardship. I know I have. And based on the content of most such material, I came to associate the term stewardship with money. Stewardship seemed to be primarily about recognizing that our money was really God’s money and applying Christian principles to managing it. This was typically discussed in terms of budgeting, not wasting money, staying out of debt, giving tithes and offerings to the church, and estate planning.
All of these are good things! Biblical principles should inform every aspect of our lives, including money management. But is this really the essence of Christian stewardship? Some expand it beyond money to talk about management of other resources, such as in the official Adventist statement of Fundamental Belief #21:
Belief 21: Stewardship We are God’s stewards, entrusted by Him with time and opportunities, abilities and possessions, and the blessings of the earth and its resources. We are responsible to Him for their proper use. We acknowledge God’s ownership by faithful service to Him and our fellow human beings, and by returning tithe and giving offerings for the proclamation of His gospel and the support and growth of His church. Stewardship is a privilege given to us by God for nurture in love and the victory over selfishness and covetousness. Stewards rejoice in the blessings that come to others as a result of their faithfulness. (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15; 1 Chron. 29:14; Haggai 1:3-11; Mal. 3:8-12; Matt. 23:23; Rom. 15:26, 27; 1 Cor. 9:9-14; 2 Cor. 8:1-15; 9:7.)
Despite the wide-ranging scope of this statement, however, much of Adventist discourse on stewardship still centers around stewardship of financial resources. A recent example of this is the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide for the first quarter of 2023. This quarter’s lesson, titled “Managing for the Master: Till He Comes”, was written by G. Edward Reid, former director of Stewardship Ministries of the North American Division. The lesson has focused heavily on money management, at times feeling more like a financial health seminar than a Bible study.
Why this hyperfocus on one aspect of stewardship, when even the denomination’s official belief statement hints at much more? The article accompanying the belief statement on the church’s website attempts to answer this very question.
Why is the emphasis in stewardship so often money-related?
Money is involved in so much of life, so of course it will be a big part of stewardship. We no longer settle debts with bushels of wheat. We no longer make bargains in terms of livestock or barter for goods. We work for money, and we use it to buy what we need—or want.
When God said, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse…” it was because a storehouse was needed for the tithes of crops (Malachi 3:10). Your local church’s “storehouse” is likely a bank account.
The topic of money is often associated with being cold, dirty, and impersonal. Money is often linked to greed. But it is “the love of money” that “is the root of all evil,” not the money itself (1 Timothy 6:10).
Money is what makes many church ministries possible. By returning tithe and giving offerings you are assisting in God’s work. You are helping the spread of His gospel and the support and growth of His church.
While this partly explains the emphasis on money, it does not address the neglect of other aspects of stewardship. The importance of one aspect does not excuse ignoring the rest.
I think a large part of the reason for this one-sided treatment of stewardship is that we have not been careful to first define stewardship in biblical terms. Most discussions of Christian stewardship seem to assume a definition—whether spending money responsibly, exercising good time management, or caring for the earth—and find Bible passages discussing that topic, rather than starting with what the Bible actually says about stewards and stewardship. Somewhat surprisingly, of the ten Bible passages listed in support of Adventist Fundamental Belief #21, not a single one uses the term steward or stewardship. This doesn’t mean the verses are irrelevant; all of them discuss topics related to stewardship. But it seems to me that if a term under discussion appears in scripture, a proper treatment of the subject should consider how the Bible uses the term.
One often-cited verse does use it: 1 Corinthians 4:2. “Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful” (unless otherwise noted, all scripture references are from the ESV). This verse rightly emphasizes the fidelity demanded of anyone holding a stewardship position. But stewards of what? Money? Time? The earth’s resources? Don’t skip verse 1! “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.”
Stewards of the mysteries of God!
As we will see, this is not the only passage that links Christian stewardship to something far beyond material possessions. Other texts speak of stewarding the gospel, the plan of salvation, and the grace of God. Jesus even refers to Himself with language indicative of a stewardship role. At the most fundamental level, Christian stewardship is not about money; it is about the eternal riches of God.
This series will attempt to refocus the discussion of Christian stewardship by examining passages that explicitly discuss it. Part 2 will look at several biblical examples of literal stewards of earthly estates, with the goal of understanding the scope of a steward’s role in the ancient world. Part 3 will show how Jesus refers to Himself as a steward and extract theological principles of stewardship from His teachings. Part 4 will trace how Paul and Peter apply those principles to our role as stewards of the things of God, and propose a definition of Christian stewardship based on biblical usage.