Be successful and be a steward of the Kingdom of Heaven
【Successful Heavenly Enterprise】Series 5
Translated by Lin Yu
Then he called ten of his servants and handed them ten pieces of silver.explain: "You go about your business and wait until I come back."
(Gospel of Luke19:13)
How to bring the Kingdom of Heaven into your corporate mission? Previous articles in this series have talked about: the need for a paradigm shift to see the Kingdom of God at work in your life; the need to “put everything in” to enter the Kingdom; businesses have a purpose in the Kingdom, and how to find a Kingdom mission.
In this article, we will look at the role of business from the perspective of biblical stewardship. If you are waiting for God to bless your business, get ready for a paradigm shift!
The teaching of stewardship is often heard in churches, but it is not often seen in shopping malls. Unfortunately, this teaching is often used to motivate people to give money and time to the ministry of others. If you have reservations about this observation, mention the word "steward" to most Christians and see if they think you are asking for their money or time.In fact, the biblical principles of stewardship define God’s and our roles in this life and the next.; Stewardship is a fundamental principle of the Kingdom of Heaven.
What exactly is a housekeeper? Why is it so important in the heavenly paradigm? Is stewardship only a New Testament principle, or does it appear earlier? How does stewardship relate to defining God and our roles in heaven? Hopefully, by discussing these issues, readers will understand that it is not your business that you want God’s blessing for.
▲All heaven and earth and all things belong to God, and we have the authority and responsibility to manage them entrusted to us, and we must also give an account to Him.
Define "Butler"
“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world and those who live in it.” (Psalm)24:1)All belongs to God, which is the basis of biblical stewardship principles. He allows us to have dominion over everything that is His. In other words, we have nothing, not even life. Beyond that, He promises to hold us accountable for all our trust in Him.
The word "steward" comes from Greek oikonomos;oikos —家業， nomos —治理，合起來就是管理家業、使之運作的人。這樣的任務一般交由值得信任的自由奴隸，為主人照管家裡大小事務。創世記裡約瑟在波提乏家中的管理角色，會是我們在神國度裡被稱為管家的模範。路加福音16章裡提到不義的管家，又是另一種家業治理者的例子。比喻裡也可看到主人要管家為揮霍家產交帳。
Jesus’ parable of using money in Luke 19:12-26 is one of the best stewards and one of the definitions of our stewardship. It can define the elements of stewardship:
• The master traveled to a distant place to gain the kingdom and will return;
• During His absence, we are called to make good use of the resources entrusted to us by our Master;
• We need to account for how we manage our resources;
• Those who manage resources well and gain profits will be praised and rewarded;
• Without proper management, original resources will be taken away and given to good stewards;
• The way to obtain more resources and authority is to be faithful to what you receive;
• The Lord Jesus regards money as “the least of things.” If we cannot manage money well, how can we manage the city?
Steve and Meiyue are examples of good stewards in the Kingdom of Heaven. They view everything they do and everything they own as belonging to God and serving His kingdom. Even when a couple loves each other, their personal relationship with the Lord remains their greatest joy and life's primary responsibility.
Even though their leadership positions in family, business, church, and community keep Steve and Meiyue's schedules full, their first priority in using their time always revolves around their personal relationship with the Lord. The two set aside time to fast and pray together, seeking the presence of the Lord. Be very careful about what you see, hear, and say to ensure that you do not defile the temple of the Holy Spirit. Like many accomplished people, they seem to be able to accomplish more in 24 hours than the average person.
Before businesses and individuals make any money, they always ask the Lord where the money will go and what it will be used for. Before the finances are in place, they regard them as resources that God has allocated to them. The couple gave generously to the needs of the church and ministry, not out of kindness or obligation, but because they heard the Lord say how and when to give; sometimes by faith, sometimes based on what has been harvested. They never considered money as their own; it all belonged to God.
They are often guided by the Lord to give away their property, jewelry, art collections, etc., as being temporarily kept by the Lord. They always use the best of their wealth to honor others, including treasures that most people would not give away except for their own children.
They manage time, money, and assets very well, but what they use best is their interpersonal relationships, including relationships with people in power, with friends, and even with employees and customers. They treat people with love and respect, seeing each person as if the Lord has brought him into their lives for a specific reason. Their job is to honor God by treating people with respect.
There is no doubt that promotions and additions will come to Steve and Joy's personal lives and businesses, just as the master in the parable promised:“To everyone who has, more will be given; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.”
Stewards in the Old Testament
The concept of stewardship actually existed as early as God created man. The Old Testament records that God created male and female and gave them sovereignty over them. Genesis Chapter 1:28 says that man is to be fruitful and fill the earth, to subdue the earth and to have dominion over the living creatures. This is the entrusted authority and the essence of the messenger. God did not give the whole earth to Adam and Eve; He lent it to them. They are called to represent God in stewardship of His creation, which is what Chapter 2:15 says about “making Him work and keep it.”
Psalm 50 also contains God’s declaration of ownership and sovereignty over creation. Verses 10-12 say:"For the beasts of the woods are mine, and the cattle on a thousand mountains are mine. I know all the birds in the mountains, and all the beasts of the field are mine. If I am hungry, I need not tell you, for the world and everything in it are All that is full is mine.”
In the book of Leviticus, God issued regulations for the use and transfer of land ownership, saying in chapter 25 verse 23:"The land shall not be sold forever, for the land is mine."
The tithe required by the Mosaic Law was a test of the Israelites’ stewardship. When they entered the Promised Land, they were required to give one-tenth of their grain and livestock to God. This does not mean that they own 90% and God owns 10%, but it reminds His people that everything belongs to God. He gives life, family, land, and harvest, and all of them belong to Him. Tithes are meant to remind us of the role of the Creator to creation, and the role of the created world to the Creator.
Ishimotosha was once a loyal steward. He strictly follows the schedule and gets up early to get closer to the Lord. After exercising in the gym, he gets to the office before 7:00 and never gets off work before 6:00 p.m. After returning home, I have dinner with my family and supervise my children to complete their homework and practice piano. His discipline in time management seems to account for every moment.
Unfortunately, he believed that everyone should use their time as diligently and productively as he did, and couldn't stand employees who were less enthusiastic about time management than he was. Like many employees, they arrive late or leave early, and their lunch breaks average an hour and a half instead of an hour. When it's time to work, they are doing personal chores or surfing the Internet. In a word, his employees are exactly the same as your employees.
Ishimotosha often harshly criticized employees for poor performance and misappropriation of company time. Unknowingly, he uttered curse words, such as laziness, uselessness, incompetence, and inefficiency, looking at them as a group of stupid people who could only eat. He did not realize that he was abusing the trust God had given him to manage his employees by cursing them with his attitude and words. He forgot that his employees were God's people, and when he rebuked God's children, He heard him.
He is a good steward of his own time but a poor steward of his employees. He first needs to love these employees like his own children; he needs to be an example of nurturing them with the Lord's teachings; he needs to replace the curse by spending time training and coaching employees on how to manage their time properly. In fact, most people have never learned time and financial management, or the importance of a stewardship attitude. They enter the workplace like a child who does not know the kingdom of heaven, and waste time like a child.
A father's role is to educate his children in the Lord's teachings. Regardless of the spirituality or religious background of employees, business owners need to teach them biblical principles. There is no need to quote passages; biblical principles contain their own truth. With appropriate guidance and encouragement in love, when the time comes, employees can be expected to become better stewards of their time and company resources. Supervisors also need to let those employees who cannot be exemplars transfer and ask God to prepare a better place for them. It is also one of the responsibilities of a good steward to fire employees who are unteachable and refuse to be corrected.
▲Business owners also need to treat their employees with a stewardship attitude and provide appropriate guidance and encouragement in love.
Stewards in the New Testament
如同之前文章所述，許多基督徒是聽到救贖福音才進入神國度，而非天國福音（參考本刊67期〈成功，要「投注所有」進天國〉），相信神只在意他們的靈魂，世上所有的一切都和他們與神的關係無關。他們奉獻生命（或說部分生命）給主，卻從未把自己的所是和所有交給神。因此，他們重生之初的典範，就是神看重屬靈的事，輕忽物質世界。
The next paradigm shift occurs when these new believers begin to join the church, receive teachings on tithing, donation, and poor relief, and accept the 90/10 paradigm of the Old Testament. If it is not within the 10% given to God, it must belong to them, right? Part of 90% is their company. These new believers focus only on the principle of giving rather than on their relationship with God, which is more dangerous than a false paradigm. They give only out of religious obligation and look with pride on those who do not. They are in danger of becoming New Testament Pharisees.
At some stage these new believers begin to hear the concept of stewardship but remain limited to involvement in the local church. They are urged to manage their time and finances well to invest in the ministries of local churches and evangelical organizations. At this time, they regard the enterprise as a tool for the country to devote time and money, and the model includes some aspects of stewardship.
It is hoped that these believers will finally hear the gospel of the kingdom and realize that Jesus not only died for their sins, but also to restore everything lost due to the fall in the Garden of Eden. He brings the Jubilee to all people and things, restoring the prosperity God intended to have before the Fall. Jesus came to establish a kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
In order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, one must "bet everything", that isexplainAll we are and all we have is surrendered toHim.Now that we have nothing, we have become stewards of His kingdom. We must be willing to sell everything and take up the cross daily to follow Him. We give Him all we are and all we have in order to receive all He is and all He has. This is a divine exchange. As believers, we possess the authority entrusted by God; as stewards, we must exercise His authority on earth.
Dale is a great example of serving your boss as you serve the Lord. I met him in college. We were both naval officers and went on missions together. Dale always worked hard at what he did, graduated with honors, and performed outstanding tasks during his military service. He always views every assignment from the perspective of the people he serves, especially his immediate supervisor. He not only does what needs to be done well, but also always finds new ways to do things better than required.
When we were on my final tour of duty in the Navy, Dale was earning a master's degree in business administration and applying for the Judge Advocate General (JAG) program. Every year, the Navy selects three unrestricted line officers to enter the law school, and all tuition fees are paid by JAG, allowing them to still receive Navy salary and seniority during their studies. The competition to get into this program was fierce. Dell was selected as an alternate the year before. He studied diligently to get on the list. He even took speed reading and study comprehension courses to prepare for law school.
His excellent management of time and tasks has yielded good results. The Navy made the right decision in getting him admitted. After graduating from law school, Dale became a Navy JAG lawyer and performed well in various fleet tasks. He eventually became the Navy's Director of Military Justice, which is equivalent to the position of rear admiral. God always makes sure that good stewards are promoted and rewarded. This is what the mission of heaven promises.
▲God promises that good stewards will be promoted and rewarded.
What are we called to steward?
The New Testament has much to teach us about what we are called to steward, not just time and finances, but also:
• 我們與神的關係—盡心、盡意、盡性、盡力愛神；
• 福音—成為天國福音的管家和執事；
• 家庭—看顧自己家裡的人和親屬；
• 時間—我們的時間已成為祂的時間，懶散受窮，勤勉致富；
• 才幹—每人按各自能力得到特殊才幹，要為如何使用交帳；
• 產業和其他資源—所有的一切都屬於神；
• 財務—我們個人或企業的任何買賣，都當先尋問主人；
• 員工—我們要為如何對待他們交帳；
• 顧客—讓他們從我們身上看到基督，而非只是賣他們東西的人。
Understanding the mission of the Kingdom and carrying it out in His way and for the right reasons is the key to the Kingdom paradigm. Stewarding your God-given assignments and everything you have is another key. In the next article, we will examine the truth principles of the Kingdom of Heaven. Since Jesus is the truth, we cannot be in a lie and in Him at the same time.
AJF (Jeff Ahern), a former naval officer, has provided consulting services on management and business process improvement for Fortune 500 companies and government departments for more than 20 years; he is the author of "Kingdom Business Success" (Chinese temporary translation). Co-founder of Sozo Services, a spiritual consulting firm that assists corporate leaders in achieving personal and corporate goals using Bible-based, Holy Spirit-guided solutions.