Stewardship and Ownership - Alternative View - December 17

Stewardship and Ownership

In His Presence: God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on earth" (Genesis 1:26).

The subject of stewardship causes both confusion and consternation among Christians. The issue of money is really only a very small part of the stewardship. When rightly understood, stewardship can bring true joy to the life of a Christian, and it can transform the way we live. The word stewardship refers to an administration or an economy, a way of operating. We can also call it management. 

Stewardship is not only misunderstood, it is also abused. In the name of stewardship, false doctrine has arisen and caused people to confine their perception of God to a box. A prosperity heresy has deceived people about what it means to be a good steward for the Lord.

The proper definition of stewardship is given by its author, God Himself. To understand stewardship, we must understand authorship. The Bible opens up with God creating, talking, and doing. He made the earth and mankind, and therefore He is the owner of all things. God created and then He gave responsibility to man to manage His creation. We don't own anything on earth; it's all God's property. The Bible is very clear about who owns the earth and who, we are serving. In Exodus 19:5, God says: "All the earth is Mine." In Psalm 89:11, the psalmist said to God: "The world and all it contains, You have founded them." We own nothing, and the ultimate proof for this is that when we leave the earth, we won't take anything with us. God is absolute owner because He is absolute sovereign and King of the universe.

One Minute Please

Everything you have can be traced back to God's absolute ownership. 

Listen to Dr. Tony Evans Online Broadcasts at OnePlace.com.