Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Genesis 1:26–31 (ESV)
Taken from the sermon “Stewardship: Putting Away an Owner Mindset” by Mark Vroegop
Before reading this article, catch up by reading about the first three principles of biblical stewardship: God is creator of all, bearing God’s image, and stewardship is responsive.
Stewardship Involves the Practical Use of God’s Gifts
The command from God in the first chapter of Genesis is striking in its specificity and its universality. In 1:28 mankind is to exercise dominion over “every living creature.” In 1:29 Adam and Eve are given “every plant . . . every tree.” God places Adam in a garden that he created and calls Adam to “work it and keep it” (2:15).
In 2:19 every animal is brought to Adam “to see what he would call them.” God makes the gifts and brings them to Adam. When Adam gives the animals names, that’s what they are called. In this passage, we see the first evidence of man’s authority on earth. God creates and brings the animals, but Adam gives them their names.
This is the first way in which a human being honors and obeys God. The garden is worked and kept; the animals are given names. There are real trees, real plants, real dirt, real fruit, and real animals given to Adam by God.
Adam’s engagement with these gifts becomes the means by which he expresses his stewardship, his obedience, and his bearing of God’s image.
A Biblical Truth for Practical Life
Stewardship is the principled connection between biblical truth and where we practically live. In other words, if you believe that God is the creator and the owner of everything, that should affect what you do with your time, money, career, gifts, and calling. If you believe that you are an image-bearer, then how does that change your study habits, care of your body, development of your mind, and your work ethic? If you believe that stewardship requires action, then there should be a connection between that idea and how you think about giving, how you use your home, how you spend your time, and how you deal with anything that you “have.”
Ask these questions about what it means to be generous and to steward the life that God has given you:
- Where are you in your relationship with your Creator? The first step may be coming to terms with the fact that you know God is real. You probably know that you’ve done things that are wrong, so what do you do about that?
- What are the things you think are yours and not God’s? Why are you working so hard? Why are you so filled with anxiety? Why does losing that “thing” make you so angry? Could it be because you’ve made it an idol?
- Is there a particular area of your life that needs some attention and help? By neglect or by negligence, is something subduing you? It’s possible you are so far over your head in debt that you feel like a slave. Will you draw a line in the sand, conquer your shame, and say, “I need some help”?
- Have you considered why God has gifted you in the way that he has? Have you considered why you are in the role that God has placed you in? Do you know why God gave you that business? Do you know why he’s made you a director at your company? Do you see your position as a gift, something that needs to be stewarded, and not as something you own?
Charles Spurgeon said, “Our wisdom is not to desire another place, nor to judge those who are in another position, but each one being redeemed with the precious blood of Jesus, should consecrate himself fully to the Lord, and say ‘Lord, what would thou have me to do, for here I am, and by thy grace I am ready to do it.’”
What are you saying “mine” about today? Where are you acting like an owner?
What would it look like if instead you told the Lord, “My career, future, body, mind, gifts, money, retirement–it’s no longer mine. It’s yours.”
