Seeing Stewardship Through the Proper Lens

Not long ago, I went to the optometrist for my annual exam. It was routine. They stuck my face in fancy contraptions to check the health of my eyes. Lens. Retina. Eye Pressure. At my age, the only thing that changes in this process is the technology of the machines being used.

Then the doctor came in. Spinning dials and flipping lenses was joined with the repeated question, “One or two?” When it was all done, with a flip of a master switch, the world I saw through the gizmo came into crisp, clear focus. A new prescription helped me see more clearly than ever!

The astigmatism of sin

As I conclude my tenure of writing these stewardship features, I have learned this lesson: Proper lenses are necessary for middle-aged steward leaders, or any steward leader for that matter, to see stewardship clearly. This is essential because we bear in our bodies the astigmatism of sin.

Since our first parents attended to the alien word of the ancient serpent, and forsook the role of steward by claiming the idolatrous role of owner, we have seen the world differently. We no longer see it as a creation to be attended to as priestly stewards of the Creator. Rather, we see the world as something to have dominion over and subdue for OUR purposes. This will only lead to toil, tribulation, suffering and death. Don’t believe me? Read Genesis 3!

The corrective lens of the Gospel

But amid the judgment upon the serpent, the man and creation, there was a promise. That promise of a Seed is also the promise of a Steward/Savior. This feature will be published between our annual celebration of the Incarnation and the season of Lent, which grants a great perspective of what Jesus came to accomplish.

In the Incarnation, Jesus took on the human task of stewarding the created order for the sake of God’s purposes. In His Passion, Jesus lived out that stewardship of God’s Word and will as He headed to the cross and empty tomb. Jesus started and finished a stewardship that we could no longer live out! The death and resurrection of Jesus was the “master switch” that set the lens in place by which we not only see our salvation, but also our stewardship. This Good News is for stewards of every generation.

For this reason, for at least a generation, we in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod have defined stewardship as, “the free and joyous activity of the child of God, and God’s family, the church, in managing all of life and life’s resources for God’s purposes.” Stewardship run under the Law will not lead to anything free and joyous. For our stewardship to be free and a source of joy, it needs to be viewed and lived with the Gospel as the corrective lens.

This transforms stewardship from a burden to a blessing. We no longer need charts and cards to measure our status before the Lord. Instead, our stewardship is all focused on the Lord’s singular purpose: that all men come to the knowledge of the truth of Jesus Christ and be saved (1 Tim. 2:4).

We are no longer stewards of things only. We are stewards of things in such a way that the Gospel is proclaimed! Freed by the Gospel, we are called to stewardship of the Gospel for the sake of our neighbor and the glory of the One who redeemed us.

Bringing it all into focus

Looking through the lens of the Gospel, our stewardship has a new purpose. Financial stewardship is no longer paying the bills to serve our needs, but supporting the work of Word and Sacrament locally, regionally and globally. When parents make the effort of catechesis central to their parenting, stewardship of the Gospel is extended to future generations. When congregations commit to supporting families in their stewardship of their marriage and family, the stewardship of the Gospel is on display.

When individual stewards begin to see their neighbors through the lens of the Gospel, the selfless service and sharing of the reasons for the hope that we have in Jesus become the focus of our stewardship of the Gospel. The Gospel becomes both the source and the purpose of our stewardship.

Without this corrective lens, our astigmatism of sin will always turn in on ourselves. Our preferences will trump the glory of God and the needs of our neighbor. We will cling to what we claim for ourselves, rather than actively manage all of life and life’s resources for God’s purposes. With this precious prescription, we see the Lord’s grace and mercy clearly and actively seek to steward all that is entrusted to us, so that others may know the joy we have received!