Expectations - Legacy Ministries Canada

What does it mean to be unaware when it comes to stewardship? And, how does unawareness relate to the component of Expectations?

In my original post exploring Expectations, I quoted two of the key verses for Biblical stewardship, 1 Corinthians 4:1-2:

¹ This is the way any person is to regard us: as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
² In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy [faithful].

There are two important things we saw in these verses. First, the expectation of a steward is that they be faithful. And, second, we need to recognize that we are servants first, and stewards second. Unawareness presents a danger to both of these takeaways.

Unawareness puts faithfulness at risk

Faithfulness is our goal. Paul is very clear on that in these verses. If we are to be faithful in our stewardship we must know exactly what is expected of us. How are we to live as Christ-followers? How are we to use the spiritual gifts God has given us? What do we do with the other resources God has left in our charge? If we are unaware of how to live and act as stewards, we put our ability to be faithful at risk.

So, how do we become aware of what is expected?

By being familiar with the Word of God and the instructions it contains pertinent to our life and stewardship. A common objection to this is that the Bible does not have specific teaching or instruction on how I use my Ford Escape or my chequing account at Scotiabank. This is true, but Scripture does contain many instructions on how we are to live a Christians that can be applied to our actions as stewards.

Time for reflection

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but consider the following verses and how they may apply to, and be lived out through, your stewardship…

Romans 12:10-13
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honour, not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.
Romans 12:16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
Galatians 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
Galatians 6:10 So then, while we have opportunity, let’s do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.
Ephesians 4:1-3
Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Philippians 4:8-9 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things. As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth.

We have to be prepared to put in some work

Each one of these verses contains instructions that, if put into practice, could radically change our actions as stewards. It is as we assimilate these verses, and others like them, that we become more aware of just what is expected of us as stewards, and less likely to act out of unawareness.

Beyond that though, we also need to demonstrate an awareness of the one who entrusted us with this stewardship. We need to know who God is, what he is like, and how he would act. As his representatives here on earth we have a responsibility to demonstrate his character and actions to a world that does not know him.

The tendency we may have though is to just get on with the task in hand using our own logic, and confident in our own abilities. We can rationalize the actions we take and explain why they were most suitable in that moment, all while disregarding the fact that we did not evidence any real understanding of who God is, or what he would have done.

A lesson of unawareness from a parable

This is demonstrated well for us in the parables Jesus tells in Luke 19 and Matthew 25. We have considered these in previous posts. One of the servants who was entrusted with his master’s possessions ignored the expectation that was put on him. He was to do business with the money, but instead hid it and returned it to his mater. This displeased his master, listen to the rebuke that he gives the servant:

Matthew 25:26-27

“But his master answered and said to him, ‘You worthless, lazy slave! Did you know that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter seed? Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.”

The servant had explained why he did not follow his master’s instruction. He cited how he perceived his master as being unjust, almost tyrannical. The master never contradicts the character assessment made by the servant, but does point out that he missed something. He states that if he had truly known what he was like, he would have at least put the money into the bank where it could have earned interest.

The servant thought that he knew what his master was like. He only had part of the picture. His unawareness impacted his actions. What was proven was that he didn’t truly know what he was like at all.

A lesson for us today

I’m not a fan of drawing a parallel, as some do, from the master in this parable to God the Father. The description of the man’s character does not correlate to what God is like. But we can draw a parallel from the servant to us.

He was correct in his character assessment, but he did not have the whole picture. As a result, his actions were negatively impacted. We must ensure we are continually learning about God. It is one of the amazing things in life that God has made himself known to us. As we seek to understand him fully we can then act correctly in light of what we find.

As we know what God would do if he had the resources we steward, we can then act intelligently in using them. When we do this, we display God to those around us. To Christians and non-Christians. And as we do this, we give him the opportunity to receive the glory he truly deserves. Let’s strive to be the faithful stewards God has called us to be, and not demonstrate the unawareness of the servant in the parable.

Up Next:

The danger of Selective Effort

Explore Ownership more:

Stewardship Component #3 – Expectations

“My responsibility in light of Expectations” **Coming soon**

As we continue exploring the 5 components of Biblical stewardship, the third component to consider is ‘Expectations.’ I am continuing to pull on two parables Jesus taught for some illustrations in these posts. You can read the full text of both parables here…

What are expectations?

Expectations are all around us. They are put on us, and we place them on others. Unmet or miscommunicated expectations are a major source of conflict in relationships, workplaces, families, and communities.

The word “expect” is often defined as something that is considered reasonable, due, or necessary. Expectations extend these considerations. When what I expect is transferred to someone else, it becomes an expectation. A teacher may expect her student to work hard. The expectation is placed on the student, and the nature of the expectation is hard work. Similarly, the city you live in expects property owners to pay their property taxes. The expectation is placed on the property owner, and its nature is a paid tax bill.

Do we see expectations in our two parables?

In Luke 19, the expectation set by the nobleman is clear. He entrusts his minas to his servants and instructs them to “Do business with this money until I come back.” The instruction is clearly stated. It places the expectation on the servants, and the nature of the expectation is that his property was to be used in business transactions during his absence.

In Matthew 25, you need infer an expectation from the text. Prior to taking his journey, the man entrusts his talents to the servants, but no clear or direct instruction is given as in Luke’s parable. However, when the man returns it is recorded that he “…settled accounts with them.”

Regardless of whether the instruction was given, an expectation existed that these servants were being assessed against. The nature of that assessment reveals that the expectation that they have used what they received for their master for gain. This is evidenced in the servants’ presentations to the master, “See, I have earned…”. (v20, 22)

From each parable we could extrapolate other expectations. We can consider how, when the master returned, he expected to see that his instructions had been carried out. There would be a product of their work for him to assess. Similarly, the stewards could expect such an assessment of their efforts. This could be assumed when they were set this task.

Servants before stewards

Expectations exist in our stewardship too. Consider what Paul writes in these two verses:

1 Corinthians 4:1-2

¹ This is the way any person is to regard us: as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
² In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy [faithful].

Paul wants onlookers to regard God’s servants as stewards. However, stewardship is linked with service first. We are servants first, and then stewards. Isn’t this what we observe in Jesus’ parables? The men who were summoned are referred to as “servants” and “slaves.” The task they were assigned turned them into stewards, but they were servants first.

As Christ-followers this is true of us too. Before we can ever be stewards, we must first be servants. This takes us back to the content in Unit 1 when we considered that not only does God own everything, but he also has rights of ownership to us as well. While redemption released us from our enslavement to sin we voluntarily placed ourselves in service to God, Romans 6:22.

We are servants. Servants of the almighty God, the Creator of Heaven and earth. The one who sits enthroned on high, to whom all power, and might belong, who is deserving of our praise, worship, and adoration. The one to whom, by his own mercy, we should “present [our] bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is [our] spiritual service of worship.” (Romans 12:1)

Stewards are to be faithful

As stewards we are first servants of Christ. Men and women in service to God who work to bring about his purposes and desires, for his glory. In 1 Corinthians 4:2 we get right to the heart of what is expects of us.

Stewards are expected to be trustworthy.

Or as some translations have it, “faithful”.

In the discharge of their duties, and the use of the property that is entrusted to them, they are to be faithful. It is a very reasonable expectation for a person entrusting their property to another to have.

The trustworthiness or faithfulness of the steward indicates how likely a property owner is to get their property returned to them. An unfaithful steward will think primarily about themselves. They will act in their own best interests and not those of the one whose property they are stewarding.

The Greek word pistos that Paul uses has a clear association. These individuals can be relied upon. Persons that demonstrate they are faithful in the transaction of business, the execution of commands, or the discharge of official duties.

If this is the expectation that God has of his stewards, we should all ask ourselves: “How do I measure up?”

Up Next:

Component 4 – Activity **Coming soon**

Explore Expectations more:

“The Danger of Unawareness” **Coming soon**