313: One Requirement for Every Steward

We're going to bring up a conversation about one requirement that is needed for every single steward.

Most of us measure our stewardship by a scoreboard, whether it's net worth, giving totals, debt-free dates, maybe investment returns.

That's our scoreboard.

Paul looks at the same scoreboard and says something very, very different.

The only thing that is required of a steward is to be faithful.

That's the requirement.

Not being successful, not impressive, not great returns.

It's faithful, being faithful.

That single word, faithful, quietly dismantles almost everything in today's culture that tells us about money, that screams to us about money.

So let's take a look at this.

And today, let's first take a look at this verse and the context of it.

And let me bring us up to speed on it.

It's 1 Corinthians 4.2.

It says, It is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

So Paul here is writing to a divided Corinthian church.

I think that's important to know.

And they were judging the apostles by human standards.

eloquence, popularity, visible success.

And he reframes the apostles as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

Now, the original context here is pastors and shepherds entrusted with the gospel.

We are fully aware of that.

I think that needs to be made known right here at the beginning.

We do not pretend that Paul was writing about personal finances or having a personal finance manual right here.

Yet the principle is very transferable, especially into this world of money, finances, and biblical stewardship with our finances.

Scripture itself uses this steward image more broadly.