STEWARDSHIP
AND ACCOUNTABILITY
(Heb. 4:13;
Matt 12:36-37; Jer 17:10; Lk 12:47-48; Lk 16:10-12; I Tim 3:4; II Cor 5:10; Lk
12:48; Heb 13:17; Dan 6:2; Matt 18:23; Matt 5:9; Ps 50:7; Prov 8:12-36)
INTRODUCTION
Stewardship
and accountability have become one of the often used words in our national,
political, corporate and effective public spheres of life. Every human
organization craves equitable, just and effective management of men and
resources to ensure that such are not wasted in the pursuit of personal and
corporate goals.
Biblically speaking, stewardship can be consciously
defined as utilizing and managing all resources God provides for the glory of God
and the betterment of His creation. The central essence of biblical word view
stewardship is managing everything God brings into believer’s life in a manner
that honours God and impacts eternity.
In Jewish and Christian traditions, stewardship
refers to the way time, talents, material possessions or wealth are used or
given for the service of God. Stewardship is about being grateful, responsible
stewards of the gifts we receive from
God.
Accountability on the other hand, is
essential for any society to function and Christian accountability is no
different. We are held accountable in
one way or the other. For example, there are laws to obey and if we fail to be
obedient, we may have to suffer the consequences set by officials who hold us
accountable.
Accountability is simply being responsible for one’s actions. In fact, accountability
is inevitable! As Christians, we are accountable to the church, our
leaders and to one another. It must be noted that stewardship and accountability are inseparable
and they go hand-in-hand because a steward must give account to prove his
competence, managerial skills and administrative acumen. The word steward comes from the Greek word oikonomos
which is a compound word made up of oikos which means house and nemo which means to arrange. The word originally refers to the
manager of a household or estate
and in a broader sense, denotes an administrator.
PHASES OF STEWARDSHIP
1. STEWARDSHIP OF LIFE: Although God is the author
of life, we are stewards of life and we must manage it very well. God will not
spend life for us be He expects us to spend it according to specifications
because we will give account to Him (Ps
36:9; Deut 30:1, 11-19; Rev. 22:11-12).
2. STEWARDSHIP OF IDENTITY: Knowing whom we are in Christ and living so (Matt 5:13-16; Lk 9:52-56; I John 3:1).
3. STEWARDSHIP OF OUR BODY: Your body is the temple of
the Holy Spirit and you have been bought with a price hence don’t defile this
temple (your body). Don’t destroy it
with alcohol, smoking, hard drugs, bleaching cream, painting faces, eyelids,
fixing eyelashes and the Jezebelic attitudes and tendencies (Rom 6:13; 12:1-2; I Cor 6:18-20; I Thess 4:13-17).
4. STEWARDSHIP OF TIME: How do you spend your time? Do you spend it
profitably or wastefully? You must be a good steward of time in whatever you
do. Time is so precious that once it is lost, it may never be regained (Ecclesiates 13:1-8; Col. 4:3; Rom. 13:11-12; Eph. 5:15-16).
5. STEWARDSHIP OF TALENTS/GIFTS: Everybody is blessed with one talent or the
other to be used to God’s glory and to edify the body of Christ. You must
discover, develop and use them to make God happy and be fulfilled (Matt 25:14-15; Lk 19:13-14; Eph 4:11-16;
Rom 12:3-13).
6. STEWARDSHIP OF MYSTERIES: Christians
in general are custodians of God’s mysteries
(Matt 13:10-13; I Cor 4:1-2; II Cor 2:14-17). We, as stewards, have to
understand it properly (II Tim 2:15);
articulate it intelligibly (I Peter 3:15)
and impart it consistently and exemplarily.
7. STEWARDSHIP OF OPPORTUNITIES:
Opportunities always come our way and faithful stewards anticipate them.
Opportunities to preach the gospel, to work for God, to help others, to touch
lives, to invest, to be educated, to sow (in
order to reap) as in Ephesians
5:15-17.
8. STEWARSHIP OF VISION AND PURPOSE:
You will give account on the vision given to you to execute because one cannot
be successful in life without vision. You must fulfil your purpose of existence.
Some destinies are attached to you. A God-given vision finds fulfillment
through purposeful actions (Acts
26:16-19).
9. STEWARDSHIP OF GRACE: Don’t waste the grace of God
on you. Grace is God’s Riches At Christ’s
Expense. Grace of God must be
stewarded in the right way (I Peter 4:10;
I Corinthians 15:9-10).
10. STEWARDSHIP OF SPEECH: Our speech is a sacred
stewardship. As a child of God, you are not expected to abuse, curse, malign,
tell lies, spread false information. Let your speech bless others and add value
to their lives. Always confess positively.
11. STEWARDSHIP
OF MONEY: God gives us the power to make money hence all our financial
and material resources are to be dedicated to Him and be used to His glory (I Chronicles 29:10-14; Deuteronomy 8:18;
Haggai 2:1-8; Malachi 3:8-12; Proverbs 3:9-10).
12. STEWARDSHIP OF INFLUENCE: As good stewards, all of us
have one influence or the other we can use to make things happen for the work
of the ministry and for the benefit of fellow brothers and sisters. We must use
our influence to promote the righteousness of God and not our own agenda (John 21:1-3).
CONCLUSION
In whatever
you do, always remember that you are a steward. Your Master will one day call
you to come and give account of your stewardship. God counts on you, don’t fail
God because He will reward those who are faithful.
“If ye know
all these things, happy (blessed) are ye if ye do them”
–John 13:17
