The objective of this lesson: the objective is to challenge the students to personalize the concept of stewardship. Hopefully, each is a Christian because being God's servant is his or her heart felt desire. Each person who is a Christian by choice should cultivate and nurture the desire to be a Christian steward. It is necessary to understand the principle of stewardship in the people of the Old and New Testaments. However, stewardship becomes God's powerful force in my life when I dedicate myself to becoming and serving as God's steward.
A modern parable: the man who was the CEO of the world's most successful organization personally hired someone to work in the corporate leadership of the organization. The person hired by the CEO was energetic, experienced, capable, highly motivated, and quite intelligent. This person served the company well for five years and was rewarded well.
After five years of devoted service to the company, he made an appointment with the CEO. In the meeting, this person said, "You and I need to get some things straight. We need an understanding." These were the understandings: (1) "From now on my desires come first and the organization's best interests come second." (2) "I appreciate what you provide me, but from now on I plan to use everything available to me as I see best." (3) "I can no longer be concerned about what is in the organization's best interests or what conflicts with company policy. I will do what I feel is right for me. Period." (4) "Do not consider firing me. You need me too much. You depend on me, and I know it!"
Suggestion: you might briefly get your class to consider how unthinkable it would be for an employee to place ultimatum demands on a CEO. Have them consider the consequences if they, individually, took personal initiative to meet with the highest job administrator available. In that meeting, they declared how "things are going to change around here." If they took that approach and initiative, what results could they expect?
Such a meeting is unthinkable! It would not and could not happen! It would be certain suicide!
God created our world. He made man and woman custodians of His creation. They were deceived, and their deception perverted everything including themselves. Their mistake produced disaster, a disaster that guaranteed their own destruction. God worked for thousands of years to send them a Savior. At great personal cost to Himself, He provided people a way to escape disaster.
At first people gratefully received God's solution. But, in time, they forgot how desperately they needed rescuing. In more time, they became ungrateful and demanding.
They had a meeting with God to inform God that things had to change. God needed to understand the reality of "how things were." Mankind informed God (1) "From now on what we perceive to be in our best interests will come first. Our perceptions will be based on our desires, not on anything You declare" (2) "We do not want to appear ungrateful. We do appreciate Your blessings. However, we will use anything You make available to us as we see best." (3) "No longer will we be concerned about your kingdom's best interests. No longer can we give priority to Your purposes. No longer can we consider what might be in conflict with Your purposes. We will do what we feel is best for us. Period!" (4) "Do not even think about sending us consequences to experience. Without our kindness, Your purposes face hard times. And we know it!"
Suggestion: you might ask your class to share how Christians make such demands of God. We treat God in this manner when (1) we act like we are doing God a favor by obeying him; (2) we consider worship to be an activity that is to please us rather than to please God; (3) we attempt to bargain with God: "You do this for me and I will do that for You;" or (4) we consider Christianity to be "merely a religion" to be restricted to one small area of life rather than God's approach to the entirety of life.
Not only is that plausible, it has happened. Not only do we reject the concept of stewardship, but we expect God to function as our steward. God exists to serve our purposes. We do not exist to serve God's purposes. Do you doubt that? Any time a conflict arises between our personal desires, ambitions, or purposes and God's desires, ambitions, and purposes, who receives first consideration? In whose favor are conflicts resolved? God is supposed to answer our prayers. What are we supposed to do for God? [If we eliminated requests from our prayers, would there be any content in our prayers? Would a prayer life remain?]
Suggestion: you might focus on this fact: much of what occurs in Christianity is about us and not about God. This common attitude has evolved: God exists to serve us, not that we exist to responsibly serve God. Worship is primarily about us, and not about God. Evangelism is primarily about people, and not about God. Church structure and organization is primarily about us, and not about God. Church purposes are primarily about us, and not about God. Being spiritual is primarily about appropriating divine protection for our physical lives with the guarantee of peace and safety, not about God's eternal purposes. If students doubt the validity of those statements, direct their attention to this fact: any attempt to direct those concepts to a more accurate, complete biblical perspective typically produces predictable responses: loud, vocal, emotional reactions of rejection and resentment.
Successful stewards cannot be self-centered or self-serving. That is fundamental to the concept of stewardship. A steward is placed in his or her role of stewardship because his or her master's purposes are the steward's life. For a steward, the purpose of personal existence is centered in his or her master's purposes.
For today's American Christian, this assumption is simple to make. "God loves us. He loves us enough to let His son die for us. That must mean that we occupy the primary role of significance and importance in the God-human relationship. Therefore, Christianity is focused in us and our value, not in God and His worthiness." It is simple to become selfish, self-centered, arrogant, immature children who believe their Father's love means all of life is centered in their desires, feelings, and wants. Thus, God exists to serve us; we do not exist to serve God.
Read James 4:1-4.
They had a powerful, consuming desire to attain the things that would make their pleasures possible, but this powerful, consuming desire did not provide the means to gain what they wanted.
No. They envied, but could not obtain.
Because envy did not produce results, they fought and quarreled.
They did not have what they desired because they did not ask. They did not try to obtain their desires through God.
They entered Christ as Christians to escape the bondage, deceit, and captivating enticements of forces that opposed God. Now, as Christians, the enticement of pleasure lured them. It enticed them to reestablish friendship with forces that oppose God. These were the same forces that held them in destructive slavery before God rescued them. To willingly return, by desire, to those ungodly forces was an act of spiritual adultery. God paid an enormous price to rescue them from those things. It was impossible for them to be in relationship with God and the forces that opposed God. Only by being unfaithful to God could they reestablish relationship with ungodly forces and influences.
They should realize that cultivating a relationship with the forces that oppose God is an act of hostility against God.
The Christian who cultivates friendship with the forces that oppose God becomes God's enemy.
Special note: seeking to enjoy companionship with forces that oppose God and seeking to be God's loving influence among the ungodly are completely different motivations. While both efforts might share many things in common, the motives directing those efforts are totally different. The first seeks personal pleasure without concern for the ungodly. The second seeks to rescue those who are deceived by evil and are in slavery. The difference lies in the heart and motives of the Christian, not the circumstances and situations of the ungodly.
Motives matter. Is our desire to possess driven by what we want for ourselves, what we want for our golden years, what we want for the inheritance we leave our families, or for what we want to use for God? God knows our hearts. God knows our motives even if we deceive ourselves. As a Christian, do you know the motives of your heart? Do you trust and use:
The "Jerusalem Principle"
Use Christian stewardship to address major
challenges and problems dividing God's people.The "Macedonian Principle"
Christian stewardship is based on a need. Meeting
that need provides each Christian with an essential
avenue for expressing appreciation and showing gratitude.The "Abraham Principle"
We are blessed to be a blessing.The "Joseph Principle"
Stewardship is the result of relationship with God,
not the result of favorable circumstances or situations.
Link to Student Guide Quarter 4, Lesson 12