Biblical Principles Of Stewardship - Part 2
The first three principles of stewardship as taught by Jesus Christ in Mathew 25:14-27 was discussed in part 1 of this article. We bring this topic into conclusion by tackling the last 4 principles. Please visit my blog if you want to see the entire article.
4.) ACCOUNTABILITY - Verses 19 to 25 shows us that each servant was to give an accounting of the master's goods.
Pay day may not come today, but it will surely come someday. The servants never knew when the Master was coming. One day we are all going to give an account to God on what we did with the stewardship that he has entrusted to us.
5.) THE PRINCIPLE OF PROFIT - The Bible says in verse 26 that every servant was expected to profit from the good entrusted to him.
Each of us is required by God to at least "Profit" from the stewardship that he has given us. We are to make the best of our lives. God wants us to live a life that bears fruit. It does not mean that we are to live lives that are free from diseases, financial, emotional or any kind of problems. What God wants is we are to live a life that is full. Scripture is replete with verses admonishing Christians to bear fruit (John 15:16) Fruit does not only refer to the souls of men. It also refers to the development of godliness and Christian Character such as the Fruit of the Spirit as enumerated by the apostle Paul in Galatians chapter 5 verse 22. We are to live our lives daily giving our best always for the glory of God.
6.) THE PRINCIPLE OF FAIRNESS - The Bible tells us in verses 20 to 23 that the same reward and commendation were given to each servant. It did not matter whether one servant gained more than the other. The important thing is that they gained.
It does not matter how many gifts we have, or what our our abilities or what our economic status in life is. Everyone of us is equal before God. Those who are considered very famous in the eyes of men because they have done things of great magnitude making an impact on the world has the same reward as those who are only known in their local church but has been doing his or her best to for God's honor and glory.
7.) THE PRINCIPLE OF PUNISHMENT - The fate of the servant who did not "gain" from the talent entrusted to him was very sad. He was given several penalties. First, the talent that was entrusted to him was taken away. Secondly, he was rejected from being a servant and thirdly, he was cast into outer darkness and killed.
This verse does not teach that as Christians we will loose our salvation if we do not produce good works or live our very lives to the fullest as God wants. The doctrine that, once a person is always saved is saved forever is clearly established in the Bible. This verse is showing us that a person who "professed" to be a Christian but is still living a life that does not bear any fruit or does not even attempt to live a life as God intended for him to live is in all probability not saved at all. He may appear to be saved or be a Christian only by mouth but deep inside he has never experienced what it means to be truly born again. This type of people will just be surprised because they thought they were a Christian as they have gone through the religious exercise, but in eternity it will be discovered that they really were not who they thought or said they were.
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