ARE YOU A GOOD STEWARD?
By Ryan Hicks
Time and time again I will have professed Christians ask me how to receive the blessing of God in their lives for their finances. Normally their problem is in the fact that they are not good and wise stewards of what God has given them. We will go out to a restaurant and they will tell me "Don't give the waitress that much of a tip." This is where their problem lies. They are not using their wealth to be a blessing to anyone besides their self. While I am wanting to be a blessing to another, they are wanting to horde their money for themselves or even say things like, "Why not give me that money instead?" Can you see the obvious problem?
All of the saints I have known that are financially blessed follow the same principle in their stewardship of the money the Lord gives them. That principle is: We are blessed in order that we may be a blessing to others.
Genesis 22:15-18We are Abraham's seed through Christ, and are heirs according to the promise. As such rightful seed of Abraham, we should be a blessing in every way possible. We can minister the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, we can minister financial support to the poor, we can spread the love of God through our faith walk, and many other things that can be a blessing to the saved and unsaved alike; for if our Father in Heaven "sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:45), why would we not bless the just and the unjust as well?
15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Galatians 3:16, 26-29
16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
There is no room for greed and hording up finances in this gospel.
Luke 16:1-13Are you faithful in the least like mammon; or are you stingy, greedy, tight-fisted, and self-blessing? How many people fail to be faithful to God when it comes to money? They do not tithe, do not give offerings, and do nothing else that is a blessing to anyone besides themselves and their families. Then they want to ask me how I am so blessed? Oh, the unfruitful works of darkness. How these people can never see the simplicity and blessing that comes from being a giver; not merely in giving at church, but in their daily lives. They love self more than God, and they reap what they sow.
1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.
2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.
3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.
4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?
6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.
7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.
8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?
13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Proverbs 22:9Do you have a bountiful eye and "giveth;" or do you shut up your bowels of compassion toward those in need?
9 He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.
Acts 20:35How true a saying from our Lord, and yet it is rarely practiced today by those that claim Christ! It is more blessed to give than to receive. This has two applications in that there are eternal rewards for the giver and the giver is also more blessed than a person who simply receives and does not give. Those that horde things for themselves are not blessed; but the giver is. The giver is joyful and blessed of the Lord. It has always been that the more I give, the more I wind up receiving, as the Lord said, "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again" (Luke 6:38).
35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
The Lord knows who He can entrust riches to and who will be selfish and spend only on themselves. If you are entrusted with little, it is very likely because you are untrustworthy and are not a good steward of God's money. Are you one of those professed Christians that lets the offering plate pass by with you giving nothing into it? Are you one of those professed Christians that sees a brother or sister in need and does not seek the Lord on how you can be a blessing to them? If so, you have no right to expect any blessings of the Lord where finances are concerned, and you are reaping all manner of curses upon yourself through your disobedience.
You may say, "But Brother Hicks, I do not have any money. How can I give when I have no money to give?" Well, do you have a watch, a car, a computer, etc.? You have nothing you could sell in order to be able to sow seed into the gospel? Is it beyond your stubborn pride to sell your watch so you can have something to offer in the presence of the Lord? The word of God says, "Give unto the LORD, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the glory and strength. Give unto the the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the in the beauty of holiness" (1 Chronicles 16:28-29). Now I ask, why do you come before the Almighty God with no offering? Do not give that tired old excuse of the devil that you are offering yourself to God, because if you are Christ's you are already His, "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Corinthians 6:20). Are you going to keep offering Him something He already owns? You might as well offer the Lord His own throne, as that is going to be as ineffective as offering yourself.
Search your heart today. Are you one that the Lord can go to and use to bless others, or are you unjust and unfaithful in the little? Do you think God is going to entrust good spiritual things when you cannot even be trusted with a simple matter like your money? Does this describe you: you do not tithe, do not give offerings, and have every excuse for why you do not? I urge you to become a good steward and be faithful to God in your finances. Do not let greed come in and rob you of faithfulness toward God, and the numerous spiritual and material blessings such faithfulness brings.
