The Principle of Stewardship

I believe that we are stewards, not owners, of resources on this earth.

I am not saying I don't believe in private property ownership -- I certainly do. From a secular standpoint, we are owners; from an eternal perspective, we are stewards.

In the words of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin:

We are not physical beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a physical experience.

Okay, so we're stewards. So what?

Well, lets look at just a few implications of that.

If we are stewards, then all that which we have is not ours, but the Master's.

A successful steward uses the resources entrusted to him (or her, but I've grown weary of writing him/her all the time) to create not just sufficient for the master, but also sufficient for himself and his family. Otherwise he becomes a burden to the master rather than an asset.

A wise steward does not hoard his master's possessions in fear they may be lost; that is the way of the slothful servant who buried his master's talent in the earth.

A wise steward also does not squander his master's possessions on his own gluttony; that is the way of the unjust steward.

Note that both lost their stewardships!

A wise steward uses his resources (including but not limited to his labor) to provide a good or service and generate an increase.

As a master may ask for a reckoning at any time, a successful steward stands in need of generating a continual flow of resources.

As Chris Miles states so well:

Money follows value and exchange creates wealth.

Providing value for an exchange means we use our resources to serve!

Let's consider the text of another brief parable for a moment:

And [Jesus] spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

Parables have many meanings and I make no intent to claim interpretive rights, so with that said, may I translate this parable into my view of modern culture?

The job of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
And he thought within himself, saying, What do I do with all this money? For I don't know how to manage it!
And he said, I know what I'll do: I'll hoard it all up in different accounts, and there will I put all my money.
And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much money laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

The following verse reads:

But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

I believe we are surrounded by a social epidemic of accumulation mindset.

Modern day retirement planning has been marketed in ways that promote this mindset.

Lest I be misinterpreted -- I'm not knocking any specific investment. It's not the vehicle so much as the mindset and intent.

Some questions to consider:
Am I using my resources to provide a valuable good or service?
Are my resources creating a continual, flowing return?
And perhaps the most important, am I providing a return for the Master?

Stewards do not hoard or squander, they administer their resources to create flow. And isn't that what a master does with his stewards? Is not a steward a master-in-training?

We are stewards and our resources are meant to be used.

I believe in the principle of stewardship.