Stewardship
Lesson 4
Luke 12:13-21; 2 Peter 1:1-11
Introduction
Last week we examined the stewardship of Joseph. A slave in Egypt, he rose to be 2nd only to Pharaoh. His stewardship over the resources of Egypt during the years of abundance not only blessed the Egyptians and enriched Pharaoh, but he also became a blessing to the other nations of the region, and even to his own family.
Tonight, I want to talk about the stewardship of our own lives.
I. Why is the man called a fool?
a) I have said several times previously that during this time, wealth was considered a sign of God’s blessing and favor; so, wealth is not an issue in this parable. The concern of this parable is what one does with their wealth. Here is a man who is so self-absorbed with his crops/possessions that he tears down his barns to build bigger barns. the point of this story of Joseph with Potiphar’s wife. Joseph has integrity; he is honest, he is truthful; and he shows himself to have integrity both in Potiphar’s house and with Potiphar’s wife.
b) Jesus calls the man a fool because his obsession with his crops/possessions caused him to place value in the wrong things. V. 20 says, “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’” Value should have been placed upon his life, recognizing that this world – and the things of this world – are not an end unto themselves. The man is foolish because he didn’t realize that he should have lived this life in preparation for the next life.
c) The man being called a fool should raise the question for us: What should he have done with his possessions? The story in Luke 18:18-25 suggest that the man could have given his possessions to the poor. “Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven… (18:22).” Another thing that could have been done, The New Interpreters Bible Commentary says this: “Abundance requires that one prepare for the famine that will surely follow. Here, the model of Joseph’s wise response to the seven years of bountiful harvests resonates in the background.”[1]
II. How can we show ourselves to be good stewards over our lives?
a) There are many scriptures I could have chosen here, top among them is Galatians 5:22-25; but I chose 2 Peter because it’s less familiar to us. The man was called a fool because he didn’t live his life in preparation for the next; understanding the growth in 2 Peter will help us to do that properly.
b) 1:3 tells us that God has given us everything needed for godliness. Let no one ever say that we cannot live a godly life. God has provided for us, but it is up to us to grow into godliness. To do so, Peter tells us how we should grow in vs. 5-7.
· We begin with our faith. Faith here is more than just our belief in God, but it is our trust and reliance upon God. This type of faith surrenders our life to God daily.
· To our faith we must add excellence (NRSV; goodness, NIV; virtue, KJV). What is meant here by virtue is leading a moral life.
· To excellence we add knowledge. By knowledge, Peter means wisdom and discernment.
· To knowledge we must add self-control. This concerns our desires; developing self-control means learning how not to give in to our desires and to temptations.
· To self-control we add endurance; patience in KJV. Here, the word means to have courage and endurance in the face of trials and suffering.
· To endurance we must add godliness. Godliness means to manifest or to live these principles in your life.
· To godliness we must add brotherly affection/love. To love to those who also love you.
· To brotherly affection we must add love. Once we can love those who already love us, we must now love those who don’t, even our enemies.
c) Just as giving to the poor will give us treasure in heaven, adding these things in our lives will assure entry into the eternal kingdom (v.11).
III. What does it mean to be rich toward God?
a) We will take our clue as to the meaning of being rich toward God from the verse we quoted earlier: Luke 18:22, “Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven….” Doing those things which will build treasure in heaven is being rich towards God.
b) So, the 1st thing that we can do is to sell what we have and give the money to the poor. Depending on what the possessions are (say for instance, crops) we can give them to the poor directly. The Bible Commentary says that like Joseph, the man should have stored the abundance for the lean years to come. Joseph sold to the people who were in need, but Jesus’ story suggests that we should give to the poor. In either case, being rich toward God means that we use wealth not to further enrich ourselves, but to aid those who are in need. From the belief that wealth is a blessing from God, God blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others. In so doing, we will have treasure in heaven. If we say that we’re not wealthy, that does not absolve us. Whatever it is that we have, we are expected to use it in the help and relief of others.
c) Being rich towards God is exhibited in how we give, either to others, or in our offering(s) to God. Right now, we’re discussing giving to others; a discussion on offerings is yet to come.
Next Week: Matthew 25:14-30
Questions for the week:
1. What is a talent?
2. What is the danger of being lazy?
3. What does this parable teach us about the stewardship of our lives?
[1] Vol. IX, p. 255.