Basic Principles Of Biblical Stewardship - Part 1
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by: ZigfredDiaz
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Word Count: 529
Parables are said to be earthly stories with heavenly meaning. Every time Jesus Christ speaks in parables he is trying to convey a lesson to all of us.
The parable of the talents in Mathew 25:14-27 reveals Christ's teaching on the principles of Stewardship. Stewardship is an important topic in the Bible. It's importance is highlighted by the fact that Christ talked more about stewardship than any other topic except the Kingdom of God.
The dictionary defines a steward as a person who manages and administers what has been entrusted to him by another. Genesis 1:28 states that, when God first created man he told him to "have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." The New Testament is filled with verses reminding us that we are stewards of God's resources. We can see from the Bible that as Christians and as human beings we are stewards of everything that has been entrusted to us by God.
So what are the things that we should be stewards of ? We are to be stewards of our time, money, our abilities and our life. In the parable of the talents, the principles of stewardship that we can learn from Christ is as follows:
1.) THE PRINCIPLE OF OWNERSHIP - In verse 14 of the text, it shows to us that the Master is the absolute owner of all the servant's goods. The servants were merely entrusted with the goods.
Similarly we should realize that what we have is the Lord's. We are just entrusted with the things that we currently posses. This mindset is the most important principles of stewardship because having this mindset helps us become more responsible stewards.
2.) ABILITY & DISCRETION - In verse 15, the determination as to how much goods was entrusted to each servant was determined on the basis of the ability of each servant and the master's discretion.
God has given us different abilities, gifts, economic status in life and other blessings. It is no accident that we are where we are right now. God surely has a purpose for all of us. Whatever God gives us depends on His discretion and our ability. Even if we think we have the ability, we cannot question God if He gives other more wealth or more abilities than us because it depends solely on His discretion. Our job is to develop our abilities and to make the best out of our lives.
3.) PRINCIPLE OF FREEDOM - Each servant was given full freedom on what to do with the goods turned over to him (verses 16-18)
God did not make us robots. We were given freedom of choice by Him. As human beings God gave us a certain level of freedom as to how we are to fulfill His purpose for us. So, in order to make the best out of our lives, our actions must governed by His instructions and that we must only act within the boundaries of his plan and instructions.
This is part 1 of a 2 part series. Should you wish to view the entire article please visit my blog.
About the Author
Do you desire to read more articles about practical christian living ? Visit the blog of Zigfred Diaz he is passionate christian that wishes to apply his faith in day to day living. He blogs about a wide variety of topics. Visit his blog today.
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