Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment, is given you by God. If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively to His service, you could not give Him anything that was not in a sense His own already.
– C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

In a recent blog written by the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics on stewardship they asked the question, “What does stewardship look like in our lives today?” Unfortunately many Christians today only associate the idea of stewardship with sermons they have heard about church budgets and building programs. But for those individuals at the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics, the idea of biblical stewardship is about something much more expansive. They believe it is where the concepts of faith, work and economics intersect. Through an essay by Bill Peel, entitled Leadership Is Stewardship, His essay built a framework to begin to unpack this biblical idea of stewardship. Peel suggests that there are four important principles about biblical stewardship we must understand:

1. The principle of ownership.
The psalmist begins the 24th psalm with, “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” In the beginning of Genesis, God creates everything and puts Adam in the Garden to work it and to take care of it. It is clear that man was created to work and that work is the stewardship of all of the creation that God has given him. This is the fundamental principle of biblical stewardship. God owns everything, we are simply managers or administrators acting on his behalf. Therefore, stewardship expresses our obedience regarding the administration of everything God has placed under our control, which is all-encompassing. Stewardship is the commitment of one’s self and possessions to God’s service, recognizing that we do not have the right of control over our property or ourselves.  Echoing Deuteronomy 8:17, we might say: “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But Deuteronomy 8:18 counsels us to think otherwise: Remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth.

2. The principle of responsibility. 
In explaining responsibility, Peel writes, “Although God gives us “all things richly to enjoy,” nothing is ours. Nothing really belongs to us. God owns everything; we’re responsible for how we treat it and what we do with it.” While we complain about our rights here on earth, the Bible constantly asks, What about your responsibilities? Owners have rights; stewards have responsibilities. We are called as God’s stewards to manage that which belongs to God. While God has graciously entrusted us with the care, development, and enjoyment of everything He owns as His stewards, we are responsible to manage his holdings well and according to his desires and purposes.

3. The principle of accountability.
A steward is one who manages the possessions of another. We are all stewards of the resources, abilities and opportunities that God has entrusted to our care, and one day each one of us will be called to give an account for how we have managed what the Master has given us. This is the maxim taught by the Parable of the Talents. God has entrusted authority over the creation to us and we are not allowed to rule over it as we see fit. We are called to exercise our dominion under the watchful eye of the Creator managing His creation in accord with the principles He has established. Like the servants in the Parable of the Talents, we will be called to give an account of how we have administered everything we have been given, including our time, money, abilities, information, wisdom, relationships, and authority. We will all give account to the rightful owner as to how well we managed the things He has entrusted to us.

4. The principle of reward. 
In Colossians 3:23-24 Paul writes: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”  The Bible shows us in the parables of the Kingdom that faithful stewards who do the master’s will with the master’s resources can expect to be rewarded incompletely in this life, but fully in the next. We all should long to hear the master say what He exclaims in Matthew 25:21: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” As Christians in the 21st century, we need to embrace this larger biblical view of stewardship, which goes beyond church budgets or building projects, though important; it connects everything we do with what God is doing in the world. We need to be faithful stewards of all God has given us within the opportunities presented through His providence to glorify Him, serve the common good and further His Kingdom. Amen.

~Blessings and Peace~

Webster says that Genesis is the origin or coming into being of something. The scripture verses and book references to “Perelandra” have led me to merely hypothesize to their meaning. In the beginning as in Genesis there was joy! Joyful conversations between man and God, it was perfect until sin entered and then separation occurred between man and God. This separation did not bring joy to man or God, the devil/the evil one; however, was over-joyed believing that he had won. But that was not the end of the human story and nor was it the end of God’s relationship with man. God is able to bring about peace, joy and renewed relationships out of the worst of situations we create. All is not lost, you are not forgotten and you are absolutely LOVED by God. Trust in God’s saving grace and experience “joy” especially through the rough paths this conditional life brings. You are never alone, God is always with you! You were created with purpose, be joyful in your pursuit!

Hebrews 12:1-13 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.”

Psalm 31:21-24 “Praise be to the Lord, for he showed me the wonders of his love when I was in a city under siege. In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from your sight!” Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. Love the Lord, all his faithful people! The Lord preserves those who are true to him, but the proud he pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.”

~Blessings and Peace~
References:
Preparing for Easter by C.S.Lewis
Perelandra by C.S.Lewis
The C.S.Lewis Encyclopedia by Colin Duriez