The word steward in the New Testament speaks of one who is given the administration of a master’s household. A steward oversees the property and affairs of another person. Concerning our stewardship, God is the Owner and we are the managers.

The importance of obedient stewardship cannot be overemphasized. Stewardship over all that God has put into our care is foundational to the matter of our giving. All that we have and enjoy are because of God’s grace and goodness. As our Master and Lord, He holds each one of us accountable for how well we manage all He has entrusted to us (Matthew 25:14–30; Romans 14:12).

As we maintain this divine perspective, it helps us to understand that our purpose for all of life is to glorify God. We must invest our time, talents, and treasures to bring glory to our Lord. We must fulfill His mission of fulfilling the Great Commission through our personal soulwinning and stewardship. We must invest wisely our time, talents, and treasures in God’s kingdom.

It is easy to allow the day-to-day demands on our finances to turn our eyes away from this priority of glorifying God. We must give to God’s work through the giving of our tithes and offerings. We cannot allow the pressures of our materialistic world to redirect our stewardship.

We give to please the Lord and express our love to Him. We give out of obedience to our Lord’s commands. We give to lay eternal treasure in Heaven. We give to be a channel of God’s abundant blessings to God’s work here and around the world. We give to glorify the Lord! Let’ s seek to give God the glory through another year of faithful personal stewardship.