Faithful Stewardship

   “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.

   Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.

   And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.” (Luke 19:12-13, 15-19)

   The nobleman sent his servants to invest money. He had every right to expect them to invest wisely. Fund managers are stewards of other people’s money. The money is not theirs. Investors trust fund managers to invest their money wisely for a maximum return according to the investors’ values. Fund managers must have knowledge of how and where to invest, knowledge of the investor’s values, and integrity to focus on benefitting the investor first and foremost according to his values.

   A fund manager may believe in certain causes, such as fighting climate change. He can invest his own money into funds that support such causes if he wishes. But if he plans to use customer money, he needs to tell the customer in advance where the money is going, as well as any risk and/or history of lower return by the fund. He also needs to obtain the customer’s permission. The money is not his. To risk a customer’s financial well-being to support a cause without telling the customer first is dishonest.

   Back to our story. The first two servants both apparently invested wisely. The first servant brought a 1000% percent return; the second, 500%. The third servant brought back the pound, saying, “Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin:” (Luke 19:20) The nobleman asked him, “Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?” (Luke 19:23) He was too lazy even to do that.

   This parable is a picture of the Lord Jesus dealing with His servants. Like the nobleman, the Lord left earth to ascend to heaven after He died for us and was buried and rose again. However, He left us with something far more important than money: He left us with the gospel. “But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak;” (1 Thessalonians 2:4)

   Think of those words: “allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel.” God has entrusted us with the most valuable info in the world: the gospel of Jesus. It tells us how to have forgiveness of sins and eternal life in heaven. If you know Jesus as Saviour, it’s because the person who talked with you was a faithful steward of the gospel, just like the first two servants were faithful stewards of the nobleman’s money. Now God wants you to be a faithful steward and share the gospel with others, as well.

   Just as the nobleman returned, Jesus will return one day. We will see Him face to face. That will be wonderful. Yet we will also give account to Him for how we shared the gospel. We want to “…have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.” (1 John 2:28) Do you know people who are unsaved? Have you ever tried to reach them with the gospel? Do you go to a church where people are told how to receive Jesus as Saviour, and where Christians are encouraged to share the gospel?

Brian Miller 10/2/2023