Who are these people anyway?
Summary and Conclusions.
We began our little Christian life “enlightenment” series several weeks ago by developing a proper perspective on the Christian life. I posed a series of key questions which, when answered correctly, led us to conclude that if God is who the Bible says He is, He must be LORD AND MASTER. And if He is LORD AND MASTER, then we must be STEWARDS, SERVANTS, SLAVES.
In the most recent few weeks, we have been exploring who these stewards, servants, slaves are in terms of the nature of our job responsibilities, our relationship with the Master, what we are (supposed to be) like, how we measure up, what’s expected of us, our instructions, accountability, etc. Again, I have posed a series of questions, which when answered correctly, will lead us to a clear understanding of this issue. Continue reading and you will see the correct answers to each of these question.
We began by going to the dictionary to see what Webster had to say about stewards, servants and slaves. My Webster’s dictionary said that a STEWARD is one who manages property, finances, household, domestic concerns of another. One who actively directs the affairs of another, a fiscal agent. Sounds pretty straight forward to me. A SERVANT (according to my Webster’s) is one who exerts himself for the benefit of another. A SLAVE is one whose person and services are under the control of another. These definitions sound a lot alike to me and the Bible seems to use them somewhat interchangeably. If we manage someone else’s affairs by actively directing as an agent would, we certainly will be exerting ourselves for and will be under the control of another.
Secular job descriptions don’t go into much detail about the relationship between subordinates (stewards, servants, slaves, us) and supervisors (God). In fact, the only thing secular job descriptions usually do is show the location of positions in the organization chart. The really great thing is that we aren’t very far down in the organization chart. If fact, we all report directly to the CEO. But the Bible has much more to say about the relationship between Master and steward, servant, slave. Clearly, we are in a subordinate, submissive, obedient, respectful, lower/lesser role. And there can be only a one on one relationship. Just as it is disastrous in the secular realm when a subordinate tries to report to more than one supervisor at a time, the Bible just flat out says it cannot work. Our relationship is one in which we always honor the Master and wait for Him and never expect a thank you, in spite of the fact that we have been created just a little lower than He is. Has your (secular) boss ever left you “hanging”? Our (heavenly) Master will not! And we can expect His praise for work well done. I can’t remember a time when my secular supervisor (who was a really nice guy) ever praised my effort or work. In fact, I can’t remember a time when I knew what he really wanted from me. There’s certainly a lot more we could say about this relationship with our Master but time and space are limited.
So far so good. The dictionary does a good job of describing the work of the steward, servant, slave (us). However, it doesn’t tell us much about what kind of people they are, what they are like. The Bible, on the other hand, places a good deal of emphasis on this issue/feature because what we are like often determines how we do our job. Secular job descriptions totally ignore this aspect of performance. Get ready! I’m going to make two lists. One identifies who we are and one identifies who we are not (supposed to be). Stewards, servants, slaves are: humble, obedient, concerned about the welfare of others, kind (to all), able to teach, patient (when wronged), able to correct (gently), trustworthy, hospitable (lover of guests), loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self controlled, able to exhort in sound doctrine and able to refute those who contradict. WOW! Are we wonderful or what. Stewards are not: selfish, conceited, quarrelsome, self willed, quick tempered, addicted to wine, pugnacious (still got your dictionary out?), and fond of sordid gain. WOW and double WOW!! I know there aren’t any errors in the Bible but to be honest, I’m a little embarrassed by some of the terms used to describe me. Oh, I know I look good on the outside. I’m an extremely attractive person. In fact my wife (the little sweetheart) told me the other day that I had a nicely shaped head (totally unsolicited). However, you remember what the Lord said to Samuel in I Sam 16:7 don’t you???
1 Sam 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” NASB
OK, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty: duties and responsibilities. The Bible leaves little doubt about what’s expected of stewards, servants, slaves: follow Jesus around, use our spiritual gifts to serve others and my personal favorite, do dangerous work and suffer and die. Stewards, servants, slaves are entrusted with their Master’s money (and possessions) and they conduct business on His behalf. They are to obediently render service with good will. Is that what you have been doing??
If you haven’t been doing what you are supposed to, you may be out of Lee Iacocca’s grasp but you aren’t out of OUR Master’s grasp. OUR employee manual explains very clearly that we will be held accountable for our performance. Just like Lee held his management team accountable (although we won’t be “fired”). The Bible explains that we will be commended and punished in proportion to our performance. We will be rewarded for good and punished for bad. Those of us who are ready, alert, on our toes and anxious to serve the master will be blessed. We will be blessed if we are faithful and sensible. We will be punished if we take advantage of the Master. Now for those of you who think your job (in God’s economy) is unimportant, insignificant, not very glamorous, mundane, etc., just remember that the more the Master entrusts to you (the more He gives you to manage), the more will be required of you.
All good supervisors counsel with their subordinates. They “clue them in” to the “facts of life”. They give them the benefit of their wisdom and experience. Many years ago I worked for a consulting firm by the name of Experience Incorporated. It was founded by the then retired head of Cargill’s entire grain operation. He had gathered together all of his retired agribusiness and university professor friends to offer the benefit of their many years of experience to our clients. It was a marvelous idea and a fun place to work. OUR Master has “clued us in” by alerting us to some facts about stewards, servants, slaves. The Bible warns us to be careful and cautious. We need to be sensitive to these characteristics. We are slaves to the one we obey so we need to be careful whom we obey. Servants can be led astray. Good stewards are shrewd but they can also be dishonest. Slaves are employed/entrusted according to their abilities so don’t worry about getting in over your head. Because of who our Master is, our stewardship does not seek to please men so don’t worry about what people say when you are following the Lord’s leading. And, our Master is willing, even anxious, to provide His guidance and direction if we can be patient to wait for Him to catch up with us. Don’t be afraid to ask and for heaven’s sake don’t wait till you have tried every other alternative solution before you do.
In case you are thinking that these terms: steward, servant, slave, are demeaning, unimportant, lowly, etc. let me point out that some very famous people have been identified as such. The Bible identifies David, Moses, Abraham, Isaiah, Jesus, Jacob, angels, and Paul as servants, to name a few. We are in good company.
Clearly, our job is a MANAGEMENT job. In the coming weeks we are going to continue our exploration of the Christian life by looking at the Bible as a management tool. You’ve come this far. Don’t turn back now. Just one question every week or so. Let’s do it again.