[cs_section style=”margin: 0px; padding: 45px 0px; “][cs_row style=”margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; ” inner_container=”true”][cs_column style=”padding: 0px; ” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″][cs_text]Stewardship, unfortunately, is not a word we use regularly anymore. When is the last time you heard someone talk about being a good steward? It is a shame we do not use it more often though, because it carries with it a character trait we should all have. And like most basics of life, just because stewardship is not something we actively pursue does not mean we are less accountable to being a good steward.
A Steward
A steward is one who manages what is entrusted to the person. In other words, the things one manages is not his or hers but are treated as such. A stock broker is a steward over other people’s money. Work place managers are stewards over the company’s employees and other resources. Lawyers, real estate agents, doctors, mechanics – all act as stewards in their professions. They manage and take care of things that are not theirs. Whether it is money, personal belongings, houses, cars, even another’s body, they still take care of things that are not theirs. Even if there is monetary compensation for the work and managing done it is still stewardship.
We Are All Stewards
We are all born into stewardship. Nothing we have is truly ours. From the air we breath, the time we spend, the skills, the labor, the clothes, the cars, the houses – all these things that make us us are not truly ours. If they were then they would be with us where ever and when ever we go, whether in this life or the next. Admittedly or not we do believe this. How many shared stories have been told about a the greedy hording all their wealth, never sharing, never enjoying but die wealthy and miserable? As the saying goes, you cannot take it with you.
If nothing is truly ours then we are merely stewards over these things. You do not own your wealth, no matter how much you worked for it. I do not own my friends no matter how much I influence them. We do not own time but have been given time to use. In the whole of life everything is given to us to manage and use. There is nothing we truly own. What differentiates us as individuals is how we manage what life has given us, whether for the good or for the bad.
Being A Good Steward
We may all be stewards but that does not mean we are all good stewards. In fact there are many of us that are horrible stewards in certain areas of our lives. I know for myself I have been a horrible steward over the time given to me. I have spent countless hours doing nothing productive, doing nothing but wasting time. This does not automatically make me a horrible person but a bad steward of time. I am not the only one, there are many of us are bad stewards over time. Likewise many of us are bad stewards over money, our eating habits, our health, our thoughts, our talents and gifts, our friends, our families – over many, many things.
Thankfully though, we are all still here and can change. We can start on that path from bad to good stewardship. We can not watch as much tv, not do as much online gaming, we can decide to not spend money on frivolous and pointless things, we can start reading the food labels and pay attention to what we are putting into our bodies. It is possible even for the most horrible steward to turn into the greatest, it simply takes dedication and understanding. It is the understanding that none of the things we think are ours actually are – they are given to us to manage.
It is when that understanding penetrates deep down that we can begin that change from being a bad to a good steward. It is when it clicks that the money I have earned is not truly mine but has been given to me to manage and use. I can use it to by food, clothes, shelter, transportation, even entertainment but it is not really mine. It is akin to a parent giving their teenager $100 for clothes and lets the child go to the store to buy what they like. The teenager has the opportunity to misuse the money and buy a couple of video games or jewelry. Or the teenager can use it wisely and buy the much needed socks and underwear. It is the difference between a bad and a good steward. Just because you can does not mean you should.
What exactly is good stewardship then? There is no one answer that fits because everyone and every situation is different. This much I can say, a good steward does realize that they have been given time, money, talents and gifts to use for good purposes. A good steward is not selfish but thinks of others as well. A good steward thinks ahead about what they are doing, not just about the now. A good steward wants to increase what they have been given, not just hide it for fear of losing it. A good steward is thankful for what they have been given. A good steward looks for good ways to do good acts with the good things they have been given.
Becoming a Good Steward
A good steward, right now, is hard to find. That does not mean we are not capable but we, for whatever reason, do not value stewardship. Whether we think of it as the weak man’s game or simply have not heard of it we do not value nor pursue it, yet. I say yet because there is always room for change. As long as we have breath in our lungs we have the choice to get rid of our bad habits and start thinking in larger terms. We need to refocus our sights, re-tune our ears to hear what the basics of life are telling us. Nothing we have is truly ours, we have been given these things to help us be better, to do better. Stewardship is not a funny word to be dismissed but a proud word to be sought after. When this penetrates and takes hold we can start that change to becoming a good steward.
Attempt it. Chance it. Try it. Get to It![/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section]