By Chuck Bentley

Many think that stewardship is only something that we do, like a financial plan that we must put into practice to become good with money.

Our identity

While it is important to be disciplined in the way we manage money, it is more important that we learn to see our entire identity as that of being a steward. You see, God owns the world and everything in it, including you and me.

We will never be the owners…we pass through this life as temporary manages of the time, talents and resources that the Lord has allocated to us. When our lives are over, we are evaluated on how well we remained faithful and disciplined with our time, talent, and resources and then we are God’s stewards for all eternity. You and I will never be anything else but stewards! In military language, that is our name, rank and serial number!

First Corinthians 4:2 says, “Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.”

Faithfulness

Notice that this verse does not say, “successful.” God is looking at what is in our hearts. Are we faithful to Him and His purposes? Are we learning to be faithful in every choice we make? Are we seeking first the kingdom of God?

Because faithfulness is a heart issue, you can be faithful whether you have a lot or a little. The key is to keep money out of your heart. Here’s a test – would you be devastated if you lost all of your money tomorrow? While that would be a shock and require an adjustment, you would not have lost your identity. You would still be a steward required by God to be faithful to adapt to those circumstances. Our finances may go up and down, but our identity will never change, for all eternity.

Originally posted 8/3/2015.