Christian Leadership Alliance

Before You Hire

 1 of 3

Wearing the Steward's Lens

Imagine a pile of eyeglasses from which you must choose a pair to correct your eyesight. Without the help of a trained optometrist it is difficult to know which pair serves best. Getting the prescription right makes the difference in seeing the world in all the brilliance it offers.

Now imagine a variety of lenses you might use to interpret and apply the Scriptures. Which one would you choose and why?

We would want to choose the best lens so we can see all the brilliance the Scriptures offer. This is especially true in any conversation about stewardship — a term used to mean most anything [1] and often used in contradictory ways, many of which have no remaining Biblical mooring even though the word is often used by religious people. As Christian leaders, however, we want to rightly understand, use and apply this concept as related in Scripture.

Here is the list of lenses we might use, and how they focus one's view of Biblical stewardship:

BLINDERS. When one wears blinders there is no interest in learning what the Bible says. In fact, blinders can lead someone to be outright dismissive: "How can an ancient document have any relevance to my situation?"

A person wearing blinders acts without consistency and without thought. They are not interested in fixing errors in their thinking. On the subject of stewardship, blinders prevent one from distinguishing between the roles of a steward and being a philanthropist or becoming charitably minded. They do not see that being a steward is to accept God's call to use assets in a mission-oriented way.

MIRRORED. A mirrored lens reflects rather than reveals. In this case the reflection is inward, not outward. The one wearing the lens sees only what they put in front of the lens. There is little or no thoughtfulness and no real interest to dig deeper to tackle difficult questions.

Any conversation about stewardship when wearing this lens is likely to be an echo of what one has been told previously. "I was always taught that I should tithe," or "stewardship is about giving money to God." The wearer of this lens cannot see anything more.

INVERTED. The inverted lens makes the world appear upside down or backwards. Secondary priorities trump more important messages. Misperceptions abound. The ability to make distinctions is limited.

Wearing an inverted lens with Biblical stewardship means the closest and easiest subject to perceive is seized (managing money) and that more important and complex subjects (serving as a steward of the gospel of Jesus Christ) get overlooked. The result is a distorted view of stewardship. Scripture is then used to manipulate raising funds. "The Bible says we should lay up treasures in heaven, so please give us money for our capital campaign so we can build our Family Life Center." The one wearing the inverted lens does not understand how their logic breaks as they jump from eternal to temporal as if they are the same.

next page … |  1 of 3

Choose from these membership options:

• Ministry Member

• Business Member

---

See sample

See more …

Average Reader Rating: Not rated

---