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What is practical stewardship? It is more than just giving.

Stewardship, according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is defined as the conducting, supervising, or managing of something, especially the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care. In other words, good stewardship means taking care of everything we have been given.  

For example, when I was in college, I tended to just throw my clothes on the bed; not hanging them up or folding them. I remember someone told me, “God cannot bless you with more because you're not taking care of what you currently have.” That really made me stop and think. The idea behind stewardship is doing the best I can with what God has given me. When we faithfully steward God’s gifts, He often trusts us with more.

A great steward always has a giving spirit. Generosity is a biblical command and a biblical blessing. The very essence of this is found in Luke 6:38, which says, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (NIV). Sometimes, people pray about needing money, but they aren’t givers. Their lack of generosity may have blocked up the channel of receiving.

Stewardship is a basic principle in which I have been assigned to be the host or overseer of something that belongs to God. It’s as though He is the owner and I’m manager. In the parable of the talents, found in Matthew 25:14-30, one servant was given five talents, another two talents, and another one talent, all according to their ability. Two of the three servants took their talents and made more before their master returned. They were rewarded with, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (v. 21, 23, NIV). But the third servant buried his talent and heard, “[You] wicked and slothful servant” from his master (v. 26, KJV).

What do we glean from this? Do not be like the slothful, lazy servant who received talents from his master and chose not to multiply them or steward them well.

Ask yourself: What has God put in your hands that He's asking you to be a good steward of?  

There are three areas where we can all be good stewards: time, talent, and treasures. Are you being a good steward of your time? We all have 24 hours a day, seven days a week. What are you doing with them?

The next area of stewardship is your talents, or gifts. The Bible says that every one of us has been given at least one gift or talent. Are you working to be the best you can be at your gifting? If you are an artist, work to become a better artist. If you’re a preacher, become a better preacher. If you’re a teacher, work hard to become a better teacher. Whatever you’ve been trusted to oversee, are you doing your best?

The final area of stewardship has to do with your treasures, or finances. It’s usually not that difficult to see whether somebody uses money wisely. I remind you, money is neither good nor bad; It's amoral. Paul says it’s the love of money that is the root of all sin.

God wants us to be good stewards with our money, our talents, and our time. Today, may you just take a moment to realize: God has given you something. What are you doing with it?