Written by Dynamis Ministries | January 16, 2025
Let’s look back at the history of a word that’s core to our generosity mindset:
STEWARDSHIP
In the Middle Ages, a steward was someone who was in charge of the affairs of a household. It was derived from the word stye, meaning enclosure or hall, and the word wéord, meaning keeper. So, a steward was literally the “keeper of the hall.” A lot of interpretations could be made about what this entailed back in the day, but don’t be mistaken, it was an elite role. Stewards were appointed to oversee royal estates or the households of high officers.
By the 19th century, in the wake of the separation of church and state, Protestant churches in North America adopted the word as a way of talking about supporting the mission of the Church because churches were no longer funded by the state. Stewardship became a word used to describe early methods of fundraising, such as hosting church suppers, organizing raffles and even renting or selling pew space!
Since then, the idea of stewardship has always kept close ties to the generosity space, but in reality, true Biblical stewardship goes beyond generosity. By way of example, let’s see how this important word is used differently in Paul’s opening remarks to the young Timothy:
“As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.” (1 Timothy 1:3-4)
At the time of this writing, many people were leading others astray through teachings and conversations that did not edify people’s faith or honor God. They embroiled the church in endless and irrelevant questions and controversies, taking precious time away from people’s stewardship of their time, gifts and resources in God’s work.
While we do it a little differently today, we can still get caught up in any number of speculations and trivial nuances that distract us from stewarding God’s mission. We don’t have to look very far to find numerous thoughts or opinions about trendy topics or theological minors that have nothing to do with the Good News. We can get caught up in the constant noise or endless scrolling that makes no real eternal difference. Contrast this with how God made the gospel of salvation simple and succinct in his Word:
“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” (Romans 10:9-10)
This is a stewardship issue.
As Christians, we profess to believe that “everything we have is from you,” as King David says in 1 Chronicles 29:14. This motivates us to be good stewards of our money and possessions. Yet we also believe that in Christ we don’t belong to ourselves since we were bought at a price, as Paul teaches 1 Corinthians 6:10-20. This should drive us to steward our entire being, including our thoughts, feelings and body. As part of God’s house with our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit, let’s take our stewardship responsibility to a whole new level!
