I just started the Money Map Coach training course so that I can become one of Crown’s MM coaches. I have wanted to do it for a while, but have finally gotten around to it. I am excited to go through their training program and to see what new revelation I can get from the Bible about money. I am continually amazed at how you can always see a verse from a new angle and glean new insight from it.
This morning, I had my first “a-ha” moment with a couple verses that I was already familiar with, but for some reason when packaged together they struck me in a new way.
Biblical stewardship
Stepping back for a moment, I remember a few months ago when I wrote about what I thought stewardship was. The best definition I found was…
“the conducting, supervising, or managing of something ; especially : the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care”
This is likely the definition that most of us would have expected, but I know personally, it can be a challenge to constantly remember that my possessions are not my own. I am merely a steward over what God has entrusted me with.
What is required of a steward?
The bible actually answers this question very explicitly…
“In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.” 1 Cor 4:2
What I love is how common-sense this is. If you were going to hire a manager for your business – wouldn’t trustworthiness be one of the primary character traits you would be looking for?
What if there was a way to test a steward?
“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.” Luke 16:10
I have seen this to hold true in phenomenal accuracy in situations I have witnessed and in my own life. I have watched people who were honest with small things, that many people overlooked it as being insignificant, advance and continue to be honest with much larger things.
On the inverse, law enforcement rarely arrests a criminal for robbing a bank or stealing a car, who didn’t first get caught for stealing candy bars as a youth.
It can be very tempting to say that if I had a million dollars, of course I would give a lot. But the truth is that if we aren’t giving now, we likely won’t be givers then.
Squandering possessions
If you look at Luke 16:1-2, you will see that the steward was fired because he was squandering his master’s possessions. What can we take from this verse? We all know people who are squanderers of what they have been given. I don’t know about you, but I never want my master to think of me as a squanderer. I want to be one of the stewards who is trustworthy and who is faithful with the small things. If you recall, in the parable of the talents, the master had great things to say about the good stewards and was not too excited about the “wicked and lazy” steward.
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I’m interested in doing this too. Let me know how it goes!
Blessings!
Hello CPF,
I just want to let you know that I am really very very thankful to GOD that HE has led me into your website CPF. GOD IS AWESOME! Thank you for blogging about stewardship-related stuff, we are in the same line of ministry, I used to teach Stewardship class in a Bible College and my husband has several stewardship sermons. I am being blessed reading your articles and have shared these to my friends and family.
Welcome to CROWN! My husband and I are volunteers with CROWN. As a testimony, my husband finished his PhD in missions this past June 13 with out debt, he studied for 5 years full time. I worked and was laid off in April 2007 and still looking for job. Despite having no regular income, GOD still is enabling us to joyfully and gratefully give our TITHE faithfully. It is truly amazing that God’s words in Malachi 3:10-12 are very true, we are experiencing it and had experienced it in the business we did before. When I get the time, I will post here links to articles we have written to tell how GOD is faithful when we obey tithing.
God bless you richly! May GOD enable others to read more of your writings and enable the readers to give their TITHES faithfully so that the world would hear about the Good News of Salvation and then JESUS WILL COME again to take us all to HIS GLORY! HALLELUJAH!
Dunamis,
Bessie Kruis
Welcome to the Money Map program! I’m also a Money Map coach. It has been a blessed experience to learn more about the Bible and money and share this with others. I recently wrote an article about Money Map coaching on my website and pray those who need assistance will seek help through crown to learn the foundation of wise money management.
I love the concept of God’s part and our part. God expects us to be good stewards and to trust Him to do his part in our finances as well. If we are managing money wisely and seeking Him first we can trust that God will take care of the rest.