So, you have God-given purpose and potential and want to use it. We all want our days, weeks, and years to make a difference. As Christians, we yearn to hear those words, “Well done, good and faithful servants” at the end of our days.
We’re called to be good stewards of everything God entrusts to us. Our time, talent, and treasure belong to him. However, as you’re running and gunning in your perceived purpose, it can be easy to lose sight of your true purpose. We can get so caught up in doing big things for God that we neglect the importance of being with God. Stewardship turns into striving.
What does it mean to be good and faithful servants?
Being good and faithful servants is all about making the most of what God has given us in this life. The goal is to steward our time, talent, and treasure for the glory of God. The phrase “good and faithful servants” comes from the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30.
In this passage, Jesus tells a parable about the Kingdom of Heaven. He says, “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability.”
Some calculate that a single talent is worth 20 years of wages to the common worker. More conservative estimations place a talent between $1,000 and $30,000 in today’s US dollars. Regardless, the servants were not dealing with small numbers—they were entrusted with a lot.
The Master of the house gives five talents to the first servant. This servant doubles the amount and ends up with ten. When the Master returns, he praises, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!” (Matthew 25:21, NLT)
The servant who has two talents repeats the same doubling process. However, the servant who was given one talent takes it and buries it in the ground. (In this post, we will focus on the good and faithful servants. For more about the unfaithful third servant, read 5 Lessons I Learned About Stewardship from The Parable of The Talents.)
“Let’s celebrate together.”
Isn’t that powerful? God wants to be with you as you steward your work, family, finances, and free time. He gave us responsibilities as a blessing, but often, we see them as a burden. When we fix our eyes on our tasks, it’s easy to lose perspective and start striving. However, when we fix our eyes on Jesus, we realize we have more than enough to multiply the resources He’s given us.
The following are three indicators to pinpoint whether you’re stewarding or striving. Applying these principles will turn anxiety and exhaustion into peace and freedom!
Stewardship vs. Striving
The source of stewardship is abundance; the
source of striving is lack
We can only be stewards of what someone gives to us. In the Parable of the Talents, the Master entrusted the good and faithful servants with his Master’s money.
The foundation of stewardship is that God has already given us everything we need to:
a) be fruitful and multiply
b) live a holy life.
We have everything we need to produce a return and fulfill God’s will for our lives. You have an abundance of time, energy, experience, money, and resources to accomplish what you need to achieve in this season. This recognition comes from acknowledging the Holy Spirit’s presence in your life.
Striving sets in when we lose sight of the abundance and focus on the lack. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy– suddenly, we focus on what we don’t have (John 10:10.) Our time, ability, energy, experience, money, and resources don’t feel like enough. So, we strive to get more. In trying to succeed in our own strength, we ignore the abundance of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives.
Stewardship is grounded in love; striving is
grounded in fear.
Our stewardship only has value if it’s rooted in love (1 Corinthians 13). Love for God and others is the only sustainable fuel for your life and ministry. Of course, we can only love because God first loved us. (1 John 4:19) Love is the key to stopping striving at the door.
While stewardship is focused on serving God and others, striving is self-interested. Validation and acceptance is the motivation for striving. It’s rooted in a fear of inadequacy.
So, when you’re striving, it’s impossible to love–you’re too focused on yourself! Ironically, your life and ministry will be void of the very impact you aimed to produce through striving. As the Apostle Paul wrote, if I “have not love, I gain nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:3, ESV).
Stewardship is marked by peace; striving is marked
by anxiety.
Stewardship starts with abiding in Christ. Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
So, being good and faithful servants is impossible without a relationship with God. It’s the only way our work will have an eternal impact. As Jesus said, “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16), and abiding produces fruit. Galatians 5:22-23 clues us into what this fruit is: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
Stewardship produces peace, which is essential to handling the weight of the “many more responsibilities” the Master gives you. On the other hand, striving produces anxiety. Striving tries to convince you that measurable productivity is more important than the intangible fruits of the spirit. In reality, the fruits of the spirit pave the way for tangible results, whereas tangible results don’t always result in inward transformation.
The road to becoming good and faithful servants is not paved with scarcity, fear, and anxiety. Instead, God’s will is for you to live an abundant life full of love and peace. He wants to journey with you and celebrate every victory along the way.
