Spotlight on Christian Family Stewardship

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked”

LUKE 12:48

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Hello servants!  You may be wondering exactly what we mean by Christian family stewardship.  The idea of Christian family stewardship may be a new one to you.  In this post, we hope to explain exactly how we define it.

In this post we will: 

1. Outline our definition of stewardship
2. Detail some different areas of Christian family stewardship
3. Highlight a biblical example of great Christian stewardship 

We believe that family Christian family stewardship is much more than simply an approach to handling finances or an indication of how much we give away to the church each year.  We believe in being radically effective stewards of everything God has entrusted to us.  We should always be looking for ways to use our gifts to glorify God – they are not given to us for our benefit alone!

Christian family stewardship can take on many different forms and expresses itself both through individuals and family units.  In this blog, we intend to explore many different ways we can glorify God and point others to Jesus through the radical stewardship of all He has entrusted to us.

Our Definition of Christian Family Stewardship

It can be helpful to see how stewardship is defined to determine what activities or interactions could be considered consistent with stewardship.  These are a few definitions we have found: 

• Merriam Webster: the conducting, supervising, or managing something, especially the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.  
• Oxford Languages: the way in which a person controls or organizes.

If we rewind even further and look at the makeup of the word itself, we find that the first part of the word refers to a house or hall, and the second part indicates a guardian or keeper.

Historically, this points us to the duties of house servants, who provided service and management duties for their masters’ houses.  In more recent history, some employees in the service industry, such as airline workers, were referred to as stewards or stewardesses to reflect their duty to tend to the needs of the passengers they were entrusted with.

Stewardship is so much more than just giving money away to a church or nonprofit organization.  Any way that we go about conducting, managing, or organizing our life, family, or business can be considered stewardship.  There are so many aspects of our lives that give us the opportunity to be good stewards of the gifts He has given us.  Remember, the ultimate goal remains: stewardship is about giving glory to God and pointing others to Christ.  

Let’s take a look at a few Bible verses that speak about different areas of stewardship:

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

1 Peter 4:10

“The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”

Genesis 2:15

“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

2 Corinthians 9:6-7

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”

Colossians 3:23

“So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?”

Luke 16:11

“Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”

Proverbs 16:3

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”

Malachi 3:10 

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

“But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”

Luke 12:48

“This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed.”

1 Corinthians 4:1-2

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”

Proverbs 22:7

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”

Luke 16:10

Based on these examples, we discover a couple things:

First, we see that Christian stewardship is about a whole lot more than finances.  

Secondly, that God appears to take stewardship pretty seriously, and this is not a part of our Christian life that we want to take for granted or put on the back burner.

Areas of Christian Family Stewardship

The following is a list of some of the areas we have identified that individuals and families can serve as stewards in:

• Faith
• Time
• Talents
• Finances
• Possessions
• Family
• Health/Body
• Energy

Obviously, this list is not exhaustive, and we look forward to discovering new ways to glorify God into our future.  Hopefully, some of those ideas will come from you in our online community!

A Biblical Example of Christian Stewardship: Joseph

Joseph’s story is found in Genesis 39-47.  Joseph was an excellent example of a faithful steward who persevered in every season of his life, through both smooth sailing and rough seas.  He never wavered, and he was rewarded.  

Genesis 39:4 says that Joseph found favor in the eyes of Potiphar, who put Joseph in charge of Potiphar’s household and entrusted him to care for everything he owned.  Genesis 39:22 tells us that a warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison was made responsible for all that was done there.  In 41:40-41, he was placed in charge of the palace and Pharoah affirmed that all of the Egyptian people should submit to Joseph’s orders.  Pharoah even said that only with respect to the throne would Pharoah be greater than Joseph.  The significance of that declaration cannot be understated.

Because of his obedience to God, Joseph was put in charge of first Potiphar’s household, then the prison, and finally all of Egypt.  These roles involved possessions, power, and authority.  It was up to Joseph to decide how he would steward these gifts, and he was rewarded for the ways he showed his faithfulness time and time again.

Here is a great video to watch with your kids about Joseph:

Check out these 8 Genuine Christian Family Stewardship Tips to Expect From Faithful Servant.

Key Points:

1. Our definition of Christian family stewardship is: At all times and in all situations we should be looking for ways to glorify God and point others to Jesus through the radically effective management of all the blessings God has entrusted to us.
2. The term “stewardship” generally refers to how we conduct, supervise, manage, control, or organize the gifts God has entrusted to us.
3. The Bible speaks extensively about Christian stewardship and shows that it is something that God takes very seriously.
4. The story of Joseph is a great example of Christian stewardship and details how God blesses those who strive to be radically effective stewards of His gifts.