Deep Vocab

You may have heard the word “stewardship” mentioned in church or on this Web site. But what does stewardship actually mean? Sometimes it is used to talk about caring for the environment. A lot of times – especially at church – it can be used when talking about tithing or donating money to the church. Personally, I often associate it with money.

Here is the definition from Merriam-Webster:

stew•ard•ship : the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care. (n: steward)

Being a steward means taking care of someone else’s stuff. In the definition above, the word “entrusted” is significant. When you are entrusted with something, you have no rights to that thing, only the responsibility to use it in a way that the owner would expect it to be used.

In the biblical sense, we are all stewards. God is the owner. He has entrusted us with His resources (money, time, talent, environment, etc.). In order to become a good steward, I think it is important to first recognize that God owns everything and that we are merely trustees.

When was the last time you heard the word stewardship used? In what context was it mentioned?