Genesis 1:26-28
Introduction
Stewardship is protecting and expanding assets that belong to another. In Genesis 1:26-28, we learn that God gave man the authority to rule over everything on Earth. Even though mankind was entrusted with the maintenance and care of the animals, land, and sea, God created them and He was the actual owner.
Kingdom stewardship is the understanding that while we are here on Earth, we don’t own anything. To be in proper alignment with God, we must adopt a managerial mindset instead of having an ownership mindset. We are to manage things according to the instructions of the Owner, as noted in Scripture, while remembering that the management job is only temporary. We do not own the houses we live in, the cars we drive, and the trinkets we may have purchased. We are, however, to take care of them in ways that are pleasing to God and will give Him glory.
Whenever a manager thinks he is the owner, the two will be in constant conflict with one another. In today’s society, many people don’t experience the true blessings of God because they claim ownership of their lives. When that happens, people turn everything they have over to Satan.
Getting Started
Pastor Evans explained that while he was in seminary, he would housesit for various individuals who lived in affluent neighborhoods in the Dallas area. Housesitting gave him the right to temporarily live in the home, take care of pets, and drive the owner’s car. Even though he may have “lived large” for the duration of each individual job, he always remembered that none of the items he cared for were actually his. He was simply the caretaker of those things until the owner returned.
Have you ever been charged with looking after an item for someone else? What are some of the things you did to make sure the care you provided was equivalent to that of the owner?
Let’s Get Personal
Many of us refer to items using the pronoun “my.” On any given day, we can be found saying sentences that include the phrases “my family,” “my job,” “my career,” and “my life.” Make a list of the things that you have claimed ownership of. Read Psalm 24:1. Meditate on that verse and verbally transfer the ownership of everything on your list back to God.
Take the Next Step
Good stewards should always be looking to expand their current spheres of influence. Review the list you wrote earlier. How can you expand the purpose of those things for the benefit of God’s kingdom?
Renew Your Mind
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Genesis 1:26
