God’s wisdom is easy to understand – but hard to APPLY. Biblical money management, God-honouring stewardship, is about wisdom and character more than income or education. It has to do with old-fashioned discipline. It’s more than 80% about choices. It’s not just hearing, it’s doing. I’ve begun to realise I really can be an encouragement to others, really honour God with this really important area of my finances, I can even give increasingly, joyfully and freely, more and more and more – if I can just get to control this idiot I shave with!

When people in church tomorrow hear the word stewardship, many of them may switch off and just think I’m going to say, ‘Give the church more money!’ But stewardship, what the Bible says about that, is that stewardship is basically all about how you look after what belonged to another. It involves money, but encompasses much more – and I don’t want to talk about amount so much as attitude.

The word comes out of KJV – written in the times of the feudal system.// Everyone then knew all about stewardship. They knew who a steward was – a man who managed all the business issues for the Lord in the castle. If you were the steward, you could manage huge amounts. You could do what you wanted with it. You took some to provide for your own needs – you were looked after. But you also had to know you’d be held to account; because (and here’s the real bottom line) you don’t own anything – it’s all his = it belonged to the Lord. That’s stewardship.

Stewardship means accepting that I am a manager of God’s stuff. If I look after what he gives me, he’s committed to looking after me. So I don’t worry, I trust him, and I’m faithful with everything he gives me. We all can slip away from that perspective: I AM NOT AN OWNER – I’M A STEWARD!

Follow this link for a fascinating historical lesson in the privileges and responsibilities of a Steward.