Being Good AND Faithful Servants

God expects us to be good and faithful stewards.

The Lord commended the 5-talent and 2-talent stewards in the Parable of the Talents. He praised their work and described it as “good”. Often times we skip that word assuming we know what it means, but it’s important to examine its rich meaning to grasp what the Lord expects of us. Good is defined as morally excellent, righteous, high quality, proper, honorable, and worthy. It’s first used in Genesis 1:3 and 4. “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.”

So, how do we know that what we’re doing is good? 3 John 11 says, “Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; and whoever does evil has not seen God.” We can successfully manage money, yet fail to do that which is good. Let me give an example. If a billionaire donates his entire fortune, that’s impressive generosity, but if the money advances causes that are contrary to that which is morally excellent, honorable, or worthy, the gift has not done good but evil. We need to examine what we hope to accomplish as we steward God’s resources. Are we walking the walk and managing in a way that God could say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servants! You’ve been faithful with a few things; I’ll put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ (Matthew 25:21)

Speaking of that which is good, check out our budget coaching program. It can put you on the road to financial freedom. Just go to crown.org and click the “Get Help Now” tab, and if you would like to become a volunteer budget coach, we need your help to serve the growing demand. You can start today at crown.org.