1
Corinthians 4:1-2 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ
and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover,
it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.
As I mentioned last time, this week we begin a new sermon
series--a four-week study on the topic of stewardship. STEWARDSHIP is one of
the scariest words in the modern churchly lexicon. Particularly anyone raised
in the church, anyone who remembers the excesses of certain notable (and mostly
discredited) 'televangelists,' is likely to see or hear the word and think the
worst. Images of elderly pensioners signing over their social security checks
to tv con-men who live in palatial estates and drive luxury vehicles come to
mind. And so, before I say anything else, let me just say this: Having an eyes
'wide open' healthy dose of skepticism in not
a bad thing--particularly in the world in which we live. Jesus said it
well, Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise
as serpents and innocent as doves (Matthew
10:16). In essence, he sets the 'bookends' for us; a healthy dose of
'skepticism' (wisdom/cunning) is not a bad thing, providing it doesn't so jade
us that our innocence is paralyzed. Because, in the end, the legitimate work of
the Lord must still go forward. And so, it is with this in mind and no small
amount of trepidation on my part, that we begin a study on the biblical concept
of stewardship.
The text we'll begin with is quite
small, yet it is laden with three highly theologically-weighted words: 1.
servants (Gk, huperetes); 2. stewards (Gk, oikonomos); and 3. faithful (Gk,
pistos). So, before we go further, let's get a handle on each of these words.
1. SERVANT. There are many words in
the Bible that are easily translated as 'servant' in English. Huperetes has the
original connotation of a lower galley slave on a ship. His job was to row
according to command, and in perfect timing with the other rowers. This is a
concept still readily seen in our modern day in rowing teams. It's not enough
to sit in the boat and put your back into it. You must row in concert with
everyone else, otherwise the vessel won't reach its potential. In the Bible the
word is also sometimes used for lower level officials carrying out the orders
of a higher magistrate. The scenes of Jesus' arrest are a good example: But Peter was following Him at a distance
as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and entered in, and sat down with
the officers (huperetes) to see the outcome (Mt 26:58). Working with either
idea, it's easy to see that a servant/huperetes is a person under orders.
2. STEWARD. This word almost always
denotes the head servant (sometimes indentured, sometimes a 'freedman') of a
rich landowner. Then, as now, rich landowners have "more important"
things to do than to be bothered with hiring/firing the help, ordering the
wine, seeing that the silver is polished, etc. When I think of the concept of a
'steward/oikonomos' ... and being a huge fan of the Downton Abbey tv series, I
cannot help but think of ever-faithful "Carson" the butler. His job
is not to answer the doorbell. His job is not to cook, or clean. His job is to ensure that all of that stuff is done in
a timely, efficient, cost-effective manner.
3. FAITHFUL. Like its Greek
equivalent 'pistos,' faithful is a simple word but with many nuances. To be
faithful means to be honest. To be faithful means to be reliable. To be
faithful means to be conscientious. To be faithful means to remember one's
place. Our friend Carson comes to mind again. He has dedicated his entire life
to the mission of doing the best job possible for his master's family.
And here's where, in my opinion, we
encounter one of the biggest hangups when it comes to any discussion about
stewardship.... and it's a dual-edged hangup: (a) IT'S ALL OUR STUFF, so we
really don't have to answer to anyone for how we use it. "I worked hard
for this, so I'll use it how I want." " It's my money, so I'll do
with it as I please," we say. Then (b) the other side of the hangup is
that when it's *NOT ALL OUR STUFF, and we know it, it's all too easy to adopt a
cavalier attitude about it. How often have we seen in our work lives that
office supplies are wasted or stolen for use at home; how often have we seen
company vehicles abused or misused, or expense reports padded... all because
it's NOT our stuff, so who cares, and what does it matter? We tend to treat our
own vehicles a little better than we do a rental!
Thus, any discussion of biblical
stewardship will have the twin difficulties of having to impress upon people
that the earth is the LORD's, and
everything in it, the world, and all who live in it (Psalm 24:1), yet we
have a duty to manage this stuff with the greatest of care even though it's not
ours.
It really boils down to that last
part about being FAITHFUL (honest, trustworthy, conscientious). After doing all
of the word studies and consulting of commentaries that usually precedes the
exercise of sermon-prepping, in the quiet moments of my meditation a strange
image came to my mind--that of a red 1962 Ford pickup. It belonged to my
father, and it was his primary mode of transportation to and from work when I
was a teenager. It was a hairy beast of a truck, produced long before the days
of creature comforts that one finds in today's trucks (like power steering!).
It was a 3-on-the-column stick shift, straight 6 cylinder antique that would
shimmy a little if you tried to push it beyond 53mph. But it was what Dad could
afford, and as I say, it was what he relied upon to get to work daily. And out
of the goodness of his heart, he let his 16yr old son, ME, drive it when he
wasn't using it.
Faithfulness
began with my father. Faithfulness began when my father had enough faith in me that I wouldn't wreck his
truck; that when I took it out in the evening, it would be there waiting for
him the next morning when he needed it. HE took the first step in faithfulness
when he let a 16yr old kid USE HIS STUFF.
I can't help but think that in a very small way this illustrates the sort
of faithfulness God operates with. It all starts with his faith in us
that we can be trusted with HIS STUFF. Being found faithful, then... in the 1Corinthians chapter 4 sense of the
term, is all about living up to God's faith in us!
Cheers,
T.M.
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