INDIVIDUAL |
FAMILY |
| WORK |
COMMUNITY |
Stewardship is one of the Life Perspectives stressed on this website.
WHAT IS IT? – The stewardship we stress is not limited to fundraising in churches, nor to stewardship in the environment or in business. Our meaning of this word, and its application in the lives of all of us, is much broader.
For us, stewardship refers to several things. It involves managing, directing, supervising, and controlling. It is being responsible for things. This includes taking care of them or maintaining them. It is preserving things so they last. It is doing duties and discharging responsibilities. It is cultivating and nurturing things to help them grow and develop. Stewardship requires time, energy, skills, and resources. It affects both material things and people. It is practiced on a daily basis.
INDIVIDUAL STEWARDSHIP – All stewardship begins with individuals and the lives they lead. This is why the stewardship we stress refers to the running of your life or the managing of your affairs, while showing respect for the rights of others. This is an individual right and responsibility. It is important to do this well.
Stewardship implies that you’re a person in charge or someone who actively directs things. You select activities to get involved in. You develop the relationships you desire. You have duties or responsibilities affecting yourself, others, things, and property. You will have some things forced upon you by life or by your limited circumstances. Some things you may inherit. However, there will be things you can seek, earn, obtain via a position, or volunteer for through service.
Stewardship is active in nature, not passive. It involves learning, developing, creating, making decisions, working, accomplishing, conservation, service, and many other things.
Personal stewardship is holistic in scope, or it covers all aspects of your life. All your activities, relationships, and responsibilities are affected by it. Your stewardship experiences should be as broad as possible to increase perspective and appreciation, provide “variety and spice” in your life, and add to your wisdom.
Everyone practices stewardship. It is the essence of living! Each individual takes stewardship into everything he does. This is the power of individual stewardship. People practice stewardship in a lot of ways without realizing it. For example, each person is involved in taking care of his personal needs. A person also may be involved in family affairs, business activities, volunteer work, financial investing, fund raising, political activities, training programs, etc. In each of these areas the person has influence and exercises some control as he fulfills responsibilities and makes decisions which have an impact on himself and others. When an individual does this, he is practicing stewardship.
As you learn to practice good individual stewardship, you are able to contribute more to good stewardship in your family, at work, and in your community.
GOOD STEWARDSHIP – Some people practice stewardship better than others. The goal is to help you practice good stewardship in all your endeavors. Below are some criteria that illustrate good stewardship. Use them to help you understand the basis of it and to evaluate how well you practice this.
- Good stewardship is based on truth; not errors, misinformation, nor false concepts. It depends on gathering all available evidence or data in order to be informed and draw reasonable conclusions. This leads to better choices and more right decisions.
- It relies on rational thinking and sound logic; plus a lot of common sense. It looks at the whole as well as the parts. It puts things in their proper context to understand them better. Different points of view are considered.
- It requires individuals to gain knowledge, develop skills, and implement strategies that work.
- Laws must be obeyed, principles utilized, and good practices followed. Good stewardship is based on ethical and moral judgments. It is legal in all ways. Civil, natural, and spiritual laws are utilized.
- There is no inconsistency, hypocrisy, and conflicts of interests in priorities, goals, ethics, and behavior.
- Pride and humility are kept in balance. Pride does not lead to arrogance. Humility helps one to admit mistakes and learn new things.
- Good stewardship relies on individuals being patient as they strive to understand and deal with circumstances, situations, and other people. This leads to more understanding, better solutions, stronger relationships, and more peace in the world.
- It has an interest in others as well as oneself, or it’s good for others as well as for oneself. There is no prejudice, nor favoring one party over another in an unfair manner.
- Listening and empathy are stressed. These, along with the appropriate use of compromise, are utilized to make agreements, sustain relationships, do business, and conduct governmental affairs.
- There is a balance between optimism and pessimism, as well as idealism and realism. This helps the individual to keep life in proper perspective.
- Good stewardship affects all areas of life. It addresses all human needs – physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual. This is what makes good stewardship holistic in nature.
- It passes the test of time. There is consistency over the years like a good track record. More things are accomplished and in an acceptable way. Ultimately, there are less mistakes and regrets with time.
WORTHWHILE ENTERPRISES – Stewardship is related to the word enterprise. One meaning of enterprise refers to commercial activity. Another meaning refers to an endeavor involving ambition, which requires desire and ability to begin and follow through on a plan to achieve the endeavor. An enterprise can be a challenge you’re willing to undertake that requires drive and aggressiveness to fulfill. Enterprise can refer to something involving planning and work like a project. It can refer to an exciting or even hazardous adventure. There are all types of enterprises people get involved in on a daily, periodic, and long-term basis.
When you pursue a college degree, set a goal to lose weight, solve a problem with a child, decide to change a habit, or improve a relationship, you’re participating in an enterprise. Each one provides another opportunity to practice good stewardship. When each of us gets involved in more enterprises, we do a better job in our stewardship. Ultimately, we gain benefits individually and collectively because of the influence we have on ourselves and others.
GROUP STEWARDSHIP – Individuals who practice good stewardship in worthwhile enterprises, can decide to work together in a collective manner. Then stewardship can be practiced by groups, organizations, businesses, and governments. They practice stewardship in a similar way as individuals, the same criteria for good stewardship apply, and worthwhile enterprises are involved. The difference is more people are involved and therefore a bigger impact for good is possible. With common concerns, shared values, unity of purpose, and the contributing of resources, groups can do their part to bring about positive changes in the world we all share.
For example, the family is a group in which individuals work together to strengthen one another and produce harmony and teamwork in the home. Outside the home, individuals can cooperate in business activities, volunteer work, financial investing, environmental causes, fund raising, political activities, agricultural projects, training programs, etc. In each of these areas, individuals working together in a group have a collective influence and exercise some control as the group fulfills its purposes or meets its goals, which have an impact on group members and others. When groups do this, they are practicing stewardship.
CONCLUSION – Stewardship can be practiced on a global, national, or local level; by private and public entities; by groups or individuals. However, the real action for most of us is local, small group, family, and individual stewardship. In fact, the secret of good stewardship for us individually and collectively is for each person to learn more about stewardship and practice it better. Everything begins with good personal stewardship. Stress this in your life. Everyone has the responsibility to run his life or manage his affairs while respecting the rights of others. Good personal stewardship requires that you put yourself into life to get something out of it. Strive to learn, compete, solve problems, interact with different people, and contribute to the well-being of yourself and others. There is work, cooperation, and service involved. With time various experiences produce personal growth and joy. You become a better or wiser steward. You are then in a position to expand the scope of your stewardship or practice good stewardship in more affairs, roles, and activities. You can have a positive effect on others directly and indirectly, and in the process help them to practice good stewardship too.
Remember, everyone practices stewardship. As you learn about good stewardship, strive to practice it better. Get involved in more worthwhile enterprises. Ultimately you’ll recognize that your life, and all the things that go on in it, is your stewardship. You’re accountable for how you live it. Strive to make the best of it.
MORE INFORMATION – Our goal is to offer products and services that will help you in all your stewardship efforts, endeavors or enterprises. The articles found on this website provide many illustrations of good stewardship and the important role it plays in our lives. To learn more read the Ideas For Living Articles on this website.
Return to the Perspectives page to read more perspectives
If you have any comments or feedback on this perspective, use the Contact Us page