A good definition of stewardship is the careful and responsible management of something entrusted in one’s care.
Most people understand stewardship as the management of money and money matters, investment growth, return on investment and so forth. This understanding may also include looking after material things such as mechanical machinery while in your care, or a house which is being rented. Good stewardship includes regular maintenance and planning for the future. Many judge financially successful people as being or having been good stewards. This is true. But there is so much more.
Consider the list of ‘assets’ below which we are to manage and nurture during our time on earth:
- Health, physical, mental and spiritual
- Natural, God-given talents and gifts
- Time
- Character
- Influence
- Legacy
I often see slogans like ‘Health is wealth’ or ‘Time is money’ or ‘Character building’, and many others on billboards or in advertising campaigns. All these are touching on stewardship. Developing good stewardship means making successive and ongoing good decisions for every area of our lives.
Many people make intentional decisions for their lives from a very young age. They may have had wise parents who had good values, who were leaders in their own right, who looked for their children’s gifts and talents and helped develop those, who taught them to carefully evaluate decisions like the importance of good school results, who created a vision and goals, and helped along the way.
We don’t get to choose our parents, so we have to make the most of what we get. Most people get some coaching and advice from parents and school while growing up, and with some luck, a stable home. However, I have discovered that the most important area to treasure and nurture, is a part of our character called disposition.
Our disposition either enables or disables, in other words regulates most areas of our lives. We can have a positive or negative disposition vis a vis almost any event, circumstance or people. Our disposition affects the way we view ourselves, and the way we view ourselves determines whether we grow or stagnate, chase a dream or accept mediocrity, live a healthy lifestyle, have a teachable spirit, adopt an optimistic view of the future, and so much more. An optimistic attitude is a huge asset provided it is not ‘toxic’ positivity which produces denial. A healthy optimist realises that the problem will not last for ever.
John Maxwell states that “God’s gift to us is potential, and our gift back to Him is to develop that potential’. We owe it to ourselves. It is our duty to steward what has been allocated to us either by birth, inheritance or circumstance. So, the sooner we start making quality choices, the better. Mostly we inherit our first behavioural patterns from our early childhood. There is a theory that 50% of our behavioural pattern is set by the age of six, so clearly what we learn in our very early years, most of which we cannot recall, has the potential to influence the rest of our lives.
However, there comes a time in all of our lives when we start making our own decisions, formed by our own observations and needs, the people we come into contact with, and the books we read. This should be happening by our early teens. The longer we drift through life allowing circumstances to make our choices for us, the harder it becomes to make intentional choices. We can ignore our circumstances, postpone making intentional decisions or try avoiding them altogether by living in denial, but in time we will be forced to face reality. And very often the reality checks arrive at a most unwelcome time. We are then forced to unravel difficult and often chaotic developments and make decisions and changes which should have been made long before. Rare is the event which has arrived suddenly and without warning.
You don’t want to find yourself in that position. Make the hard decision. Adopt a healthy eating plan, exercise regularly, read good books. Think back on your trials, tribulations and failures, evaluate what you learned from them, how they shaped your character, and what changes you have made. It is definitely not too late to make changes which will alter the course of your life and destiny. We have inherited and are surrounded by so much over which we have no control, we have an obligation to manage those things we can.
I am reminded of the opening prayer of the Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, also known as The Serenity Prayer:
‘God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference’.
Although this prayer is often prayed as an act of desperation, it serves as a reminder that there are things we cannot control, and there are things we can control. Let’s take a look at what we can control:
- The tongue. It has the power of life and death.
- Our attitude and thoughts.
- Being kind and forgiving. Believing the best in people.
- Health. Healthy body, healthy mind.
- Social media. Control your usage.
- Our ethics. At work and in private. Let your yes be yes, and your no be no. Give it your best.
- Who we mix with. These people have influence in our lives.
We cannot control:
- Our ethnicity. White, black, tall, short, eye colour.
- Our genes. Hereditary predisposition to certain diseases and physical weaknesses.
- Where we are born.
- To whom we are born.
- Time. We can’t manage it. We can’t fast forward or replay, but we can prioritise our activities.
- Natural events like volcanoes, floods, drought.
- Other people and the way they behave.
Ultimately, being a good steward is well within your grasp, and it is never too late to make the necessary changes. You have the power. The time is always now to get over the fear preventing your growth.
For further information or assistance, please contact us for a consultation.
