Stewards

Paul tells us to think of ourselves as servants and stewards.

Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself. I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive commendation from God. I have applied all this to Apollos and myself for your benefit, brothers and sisters, so that you may learn through us the meaning of the saying, “Nothing beyond what is written,” so that none of you will be puffed up in favor of one against another. For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift? Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Quite apart from us you have become kings! Indeed, I wish that you had become kings, so that we might be kings with you! For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, as though sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to mortals. We are fools for the sake of Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed and beaten and homeless, and we grow weary from the work of our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we speak kindly. We have become like the rubbish of the world, the dregs of all things, to this very day. I am not writing this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you might have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers. Indeed, in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. I appeal to you, then, be imitators of me. -  Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians 4:1-16

A steward on a ship looks after the passengers.  His or her job is to care for them while they are entrusted to them for the journey.

It is the steward who makes sure they have their meals and takes care of any need they may have.

We, the followers of Christ are given the job of stewarding God's mysteries.  What does that mean?

I say "We" here, but Paul is talking to the leaders of the Church in Corinth.  Are we church leaders or just followers?

The mysteries of God may have only been known by those who could read, which were the ministers, but we all can read the Gospels.  We can all study the Bible.  All of us who follow Christ can be stewards of these mysteries of faith that God has shown us.

Where we wind up in trouble, I think, is when we leave the thinking to someone else and just listen and do.

The celebration of Christ happens at the altar, but the work of Christ happens in the streets, communities and homes.

Paul reminds the leaders of the church to be servants like he is.  It is the way of Christ, the way we are supposed to live.  We are servants and stewards.  We follow and we serve others.

The mysteries of God are revealed in our actions, not our words, though our words need to be true.

We will all be judged by what some of us do, by how some behave, by how some speak.

We see this today in the Middle East and across the globe, as people are viewed as being part of a group, rather than as individuals.  Once we group people together in our minds, we are no longer serving them or being good stewards.

They become the other, and that makes them easy to hate.

Christ wanted us to see him in each person we meet, for that is how he will judge us, by what we did or didn't do to him, for him.

So, can we take on the responsibility of stewardship?

Or do we need to be led?

More to come...