Stewardship--II

Most of us know Matthew 25:14-30 as “The Parable of the Talents.” We have come to understand this section of Scripture as referring to our talents, abilities, or gifts that the LORD has given us. I have a problem with this “interpretation” in that we seem to spend a lot of time trying to discover our talents and gifts and other times saying, “I can’t do that, because that’s not my gift.”

This parable is speaking of stewardship and we often fail or neglect to emphasize the core of stewardship. In Hebrews 10:5-10, the Hebrew writer says:

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, `Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—I have come to do your will, O God.'" First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made). Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Jesus defines the heart of stewardship. Although these verses are talking about Jesus, I think that we can apply these verses to ourselves and to our stewardship. From these verses we see that God is not pleased with the things we can offer him. What He desires is our full surrender to Him (I Samuel 15). The apostle Paul describes stewardship as being a “living sacrifice” and that this is not only acceptable and pleasing to God (Romans 12:1-2) but has been predetermined from the beginning of time (Romans 8:28-29).

One more thing about stewardship—being a good steward is not God’s ultimate goal. At some point we have to transition our minds from stewardship to Sonship. We should not be like Esau who sold his birth right for a single meal and was called godless (Hebrews 12:16-17). We need to live out the life that God has given us. Otherwise it would be like burying God’s Spirit that has been entrusted to us.