Discipline of Stewardship

Speaker: Paul Brown

Notes

Stewardship is the management of someone else's property. Often used in the context of money but applies to many other things: time, children, pets, the earth and its resources, talents and skills, all our stuff... In fact everything is God's and we have some of it "on loan". (Psalm 24:1)

Jesus' parable of the Rich Fool - Luke 12:15-21. He was not criticised for being rich, nor for having a good crop, or storing his grain, or for expanding his storehouse, or for planning for the future. His problems were greed (:15), trusting in stuff rather than God (:21) and not being "rich towards God" (:21).

Greed - always wanting more, focus on money and possessions. It can affect poor and rich alike, and it comes in many guises. The opposite is contentment and generosity.

Trusting in stuff - 1 Tim 6:17-19. Know God is your provider and enjoy the stuff he gives you, whilst doing good, being generous and sharing. It's OK to have more than the bare minimum of provisions and belongings! Rich towards God - give him honour. Thank God; ask God what to do with our money and possessions; enjoy the blessings of God rather than worry about the future.

Application

For an in-depth Bible study on the parable of the Rich Fool, visit JesusWalk.com

Which of your possessions do you hold most dearly? What if God chose to take back what is rightly his? How would that feel?

Is there any sense in which your money and possessions, or lack of them, are in control of you? How would you deal with that if it were the case?

What do you think it means to be "rich towards God", as Jesus used the phrase in Lk 12:21? How rich would you rate yourself as being towards God?

Which do you tend more towards - planning for the future, or living for today? How can we find a right balance of the two?

Posted: 6 April 2008