| The Christian Life | November 1941 |
Faithful Stewardship
“Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”—I Corinthians 4:1,2
IN OLDEN times a “steward” was one who was entrusted with a great deal of responsibility in connection with the care and management of his master’s possessions. In our text the apostle speaks of himself and other Christians as being “stewards of the mysteries of God.” In the closing verses of the preceding chapter he speaks of “all things” as belonging to us, and then adds, “ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” This means that God is the real owner of everything in our lives, and that we are, indeed, merely stewards to manage them for Him.
Going farther back in the preceding chapter we find the apostle condemning the spirit of carnality in the Corinthian church—a carnality which manifested itself in the fallen human tendency to rally around human leaders, rather than around Christ and the truth. When one said, “I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos,” it meant that they were, to some extent, putting these men in the place of Christ in their devotions. It meant that in the use of their talents they were (though perhaps unconsciously) seeking to please men rather than God. It meant that they did not have a clear vision of what was involved in being a follower of Christ.
The apostle pointed out to these carnally-minded Corinthian brethren that his ministry to them was merely as a representative of Christ, and was intended to increase their zeal and devotion to Him as the true Head of the church. The truth that St. Paul made known to them, and that Apollos and others taught them, was God’s truth, and he and the other servants were merely stewards of it. For this reason their allegiance, their devotion, their service, should be to the real giver of the blessings they had received, and not to the stewards who had served in bringing it to them.
To maintain this clear vision of what it means to be a co-laborer in the Lord’s vineyard, is fundamentally important, and constitutes a genuine test of our own humility and loyalty to God. It is so easy to forget that we have nothing that we did not receive from God. Satan, in cooperation with our selfish, fallen flesh, is ever watchful for an opportunity to put the suggestion in our minds that we know the truth because we are so wise—that it is something we have discovered ourselves. This leads to the carnal practice of “drawing away disciples” after ourselves, etc.
On this point the apostle admonishes us, “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. Therefore let no man glory in men.” (I Cor. 3:18-21) Some in the Corinthian church were evidently glorying in men, and Paul, in the faithful discharge of his stewardship of the truth, did not hesitate to point out the error of their way.
This is a phase of Christian stewardship to which the consecrated should give careful heed, namely, the manner in which the “mysteries of God” are affecting their own lives, and their responsibility in helping others to see more clearly what the truth should mean to them. A steward would certainly be unfaithful to his master if he claimed ownership of his master’s goods; and he would likewise be unfaithful if he did not, at all times, do what he could to protect those goods. Paul makes it plain that in this matter the consecrated have a common interest, not only in the truth itself, but in each other. Having a common interest, we have a common responsibility to each other, for we are all partners in this divine arrangement.
Paul’s condemnation of the spirit of carnality in the Corinthian church is based on the fact that these brethren were showing a tendency to put men head of Christ. There is no evidence that Paul, Apollos, and Cephas held differing views as to what constituted the truth, and that this was the reason why some of the brethren were following one, and some another. Apparently they all had the same understanding of the truth, hence it was the issue of personality that caused the brethren to prefer one above another. This was carnality indeed.
CONTENDING EARNESTLY FOR THE FAITH
To be faithful stewards of the “mysteries of God” calls for a defense of the truth. If an energetic, loving presentation of the truth, where error is getting a foothold, causes some to take a stand for the truth and against the error, this should not be construed as carnality. When brethren agree on the truth and its service, and there is no carnal desire for headship, they are certain to labor together harmoniously, and to the glory of God; but where there is not this agreement of doctrine and practice, the spirit of division will surely exist. Friendship for the brethren might, for a time, override doctrinal differences; but when the vital issues of the truth and its service must be kept in the background for the sake of peace, lack of Christian progress must result.
What we do with the truth is as important as the truth itself. Our understanding of the doctrines may be wholly in harmony with God’s Word, yet if we are not using our knowledge as the Lord intended we should, we are not faithful as His stewards. So it could be that brethren would agree on the truth itself, yet not agree as to its service. Those who take the Scriptural view will want to be active in the promulgation of the Kingdom message. They will obey the apostle’s injunction to exhort others “unto love and good works.” (Heb. 10:24) If, for the sake of friendship, we refrain from doing this, it would mean that we are not faithful to our stewardship.
IMPORTANT TESTS
Among the important phases of the truth and its practice for which the “stewards of the mysteries of God” should now contend are those mentioned in the Daily Heavenly Manna comment for August 9. There Brother Russell says: “The tests of this ‘harvest’ must be like those of the Jewish or typical ‘harvest.’ One of them is the cross, another is the presence of Christ, another is humility, another is love. The Jews were reproved because they ‘knew not the time of their visitation.’ The matter is doubly distressing for those who have once seen the light of Present Truth, and afterward go into the ‘outer darkness.’”
Surely these are reasonable tests of faith and practice; and we should be zealous in upholding such a standard among the Lord’s people. Who would want to set aside the cross of Christ? And how wonderful is the doctrine of Christ’s second presence! The fact that Christ had come in the flesh at the first advent was made an important test. It was not enough that the Jews as a people believed that their Messiah would come. It would not have done back there to say that there was little difference between believing that He would come and believing that He had come. A failure to believe that He had come implied lack of vision as to the manner and purpose of His first advent. To those who understood what to look for, there was no doubt of His having come.
The same is true now! The second presence of Christ is such an important factor in the plan of God that we cannot be faithful to our stewardship if we take the position that it doesn’t make any difference what we believe on the subject. It would be far better, in our estimation, for one who cannot see that Christ has returned, to openly and energetically oppose the thought, rather than to say it doesn’t matter. To us who see it, and see the harvest work that accompanies it, the fact of Christ’s presence is vital, and to believe it and to contend for it is important to the faithful discharge of our stewardship.
Humility and love are also important tests—fundamentally important—but it won’t do to say that they are the only tests. Paul says that though we have all knowledge and have not love it profiteth us nothing. Amen! But Paul doesn’t say that if we have love, knowledge doesn’t make any difference. The exercise of Christian love controls the manner in which we use knowledge, but cannot take the place of knowledge. Indeed, there cannot be true Christian love apart from true Christian knowledge; for love is the out-growth of knowledge. We love God because we have first of all learned of His great love for us, and so the whole plan of God is the inspiration of our growing love for God, for the brethren, for all mankind. The knowledge of Christ’s presence inspires us with the unselfish desire to tell the whole world of the glorious Kingdom now near, because the King has come. And so, brethren, let us not permit ourselves to be lulled into indifferent discharge of our stewardship by the claim that any of the precious harvest truths with which He has entrusted us, are unimportant.
The Jews who did not accept their Messiah at His first advent, obviously did not value the precious truths which were then dispensed by Him as “meat in due season.” The same is true with respect to those who are unable to discern the second presence of Christ. Meat in due season has again been served to the household of faith, which meat includes the glorious harvest truths through which is revealed God’s will for the consecrated. Failure to discern His presence means failure to accept the harvest truths revealed by the returned Lord. This, in turn, means failure to discern the nature of the work in which it is God’s will we should be engaged. From this standpoint, what an important test indeed is the presence of Christ.
GOD’S GIFTS TO BE USED
Another phase of our stewardship is that illustrated in the parables of the Pounds and the Talents. These companion parables illustrate the responsibilities of the stewardship of God’s people from the standpoint of the use we are to make of the truth. While this stewardship belonged in a special sense to the apostles, it belongs also to the entire church. The responsibility of the sacred trust imposed upon the consecrated by the truth, is an individual one, and it is only by individual faithfulness in meeting these responsibilities, that we may hope to win the Master’s approval.
The parables of the Pounds and the Talents illustrate that as stewards of God we have nothing of our own, nothing with which we may do as we please. The apostle enquires, “What hast thou that thou didst not receive?” The answer is, Nothing! Yes, all that we have and are should be looked upon as gifts from God. This is specially true with respect to the truth, and all the rich spiritual blessings that have reached us by means of the truth. As stewards of these gifts of God, however, it is required, the apostle says, that a man be found faithful.
To merely receive the gifts of God is not faithfulness. The Pounds and the Talents of the parables were to be used, and not merely accepted. Let us not think that we have done something great for God merely by accepting of His grace through Christ. True faithfulness consists in a proper and diligent use of God’s gifts in harmony with the divine purpose and methods. God wants us to appreciate His gifts, and true appreciation is not expressed except as we use them. We are to cherish and protect the truth and its accompanying blessings, and we should do all in our power to be conformed to the truth, but in addition to this we are to make it known to others. It won’t do for us to merely be glad that the truth has solved our problems for us, and has taken away fear of the future. We should be glad for these blessings, but should remember that with the receiving of them there has come a responsibility. Along this line, we quote from the Watch Tower Reprints, page 1973:
“In plain language these parables teach that it is the duty of every Christian to make good use of all that the Lord has given him. The right use of the ‘pound’ is to diligently profit by all the means of grace for the spiritual upbuilding of ourselves and others. We cannot afford to neglect any of these; for we cannot do so without loss. If we neglect to consider and ponder the principles and precepts of God’s Word, or to heed their wholesome instructions; if we fail to consider or to follow the leadings of the Holy Spirit, if we neglect the privilege of prayer and communion with God; or if we fail to cultivate the fellowship and communion of saints, we are folding our ‘pound’ in a napkin.
“It cannot yield its legitimate increase while thus unused. Christian character cannot grow and develop in the neglect of the very means which God has provided for its perfecting. In such neglect a spiritual decline is sure to set in; and the more persistent and long-continued is the neglect, the less realized is the decline and the less inclination is there to energy, diligence and zeal in correcting it. But in the diligent and proper use of these means of grace there is a ‘feast of fat things’ which is sure to build up and invigorate the spiritual life and cause it to bring forth much fruit unto holiness, which is the increase for which the King is looking. …
“The parable of the Talents illustrates fruits of labor. In it the ratio of increase is the same with both of the faithful servants—each doubled his ‘talents,’ and the same approval is expressed to each, according to the principle mentioned by Paul in II Corinthians 8:12—‘If there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.’ A truly ‘willing mind’ to serve the Lord will always find a way to serve Him in the use of whatever talents are possessed; and the increase is sure to follow; and if not under our immediate, present observation, it will appear by and by. God s not unmindful of our work and labor of love, however unfruitful it may appear to us. The fruit will be manifested by and by when all the secret things shall be revealed.
“The differences of reward, accompanied by the same words of approval and welcome to the Kingdom glory and joy of the Lord, call to mind those Scriptures which bid us rejoice in all present opportunities for that suffering and service which attest our faithfulness, because they work out for us a ‘far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,’ and also remind us that there will be some least and some greater in the Kingdom of heaven. This is an incentive to ‘lay up treasures in heaven,’ where moth doth not corrupt and where thieves do not break through and steal.”
On page 1047 of the Reprints; Brother Russell discusses further the privileges and responsibilities of Christian stewardship. Following are excerpts from this article:
“Our stewardship is over what we have and not at all over what we have not. Many failing to see this clearly let talents they do possess lie idle, while they make unprofitable endeavors to create and use others not given them by the Master, only to find in the end that they have been unwise stewards.
“Quite a great many seeing the necessity for money in carrying forward the work, ignore many opportunities (talents) and abilities (talents) for using time, hands, feet, and tongues to serve the truth, and endeavor to make money, generously saying that when they once get a good start, then, the truth will be liberally provided for, and in fact that the needs of the truth and not ambition or selfishness are the motives which prompt them to attempt money making. Alas, unwise stewards! Nearly all such efforts are failures, snares by which the adversary gets your hands and heads so full that all other talents are choked. And the very few who do ‘get a good start’ financially are so injured by the greedy strife for gold, that they never use it as they honestly thought they would.
“If when you consecrated yourself to God you had wealth,—the money talent—then it should he your delight to use that talent with whatever others you possess, but never think of burying in a napkin the talents you have, to seek one you have not got. The talents which were added in the parable were the increase from the use of the talents first given the stewards.
“The talents of oratory and. sermonizing are evidently possessed by few, and hence we may well reason that sermons are not the things the Lord most wants. He is well able to give such talents when and where He sees their exercise needful, and it is the height of presumption for a steward to seek to use talents which the Master has not given him to use. Note carefully the exhortation of Romans 12:1-9.
“It is our old, not our new natures that would lead us to ignore little, humble matters which we can do, to waste our time in trying to do something ‘great’ and ‘grand’ which we as well as others know we have not the talents for. Let us not forget that if we were great, grand, influential orators, we would probably not be fit for the Master’s use, for it is not the great He is now seeking, but the humble. If you have an eloquent tongue or other such gift, be sure to use it zealously, but always remember that it is written, ‘Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called: but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to shame the powerful; and the lowly-born of the world and things which are despised God has selected, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are.’—I Cor. 1:26-31
“Be honest, earnest, unpretentious; and if you speak in public, or whatever you do, seek not to make self prominent and impressive, but seek to show forth the truth, relying upon its impressiveness as God intended. Remember that it is written, concerning the Gospel age and God’s ambassadors, ministers of the truth, ‘out of the lips of babes and sucklings Thou [Lord] hast perfected praise.’ So then, even if the mighty and grand of this world have to some extent honored the Lord, His assurance that His praise is most perfect in those the world does not count great and grand—in His ‘little ones’—should cause us to rejoice in humility and even to avoid imitating the style, tones and methods of the worldly great. …
“Other stewards need a caution in an opposite direction; they do not quickly enough note talents which might be utilized in the Lord’s service. These should remember that our commission does not limit us in the use of all, even the smallest talents, but reads, ‘Go ye into all the world and preach the good tidings.’ (Matt. 28:19,20) It is not necessary to preach in the usual formal manner. Preach, as the twelve disciples preached, by the wayside, or wherever you find a hearing ear. …
“What we all want first of all is honesty with ourselves as well as with others; and a few words honestly spoken, even though rough and brokenly expressed, will carry more weight to your hearer than a parrot-like repeating of more polished sentences. To be an acceptable minister of the truth, pride and vainglory must be cast out and trampled upon. Those whose object in preaching is to appear great, wise and profound are not working with the right motive and will not get the great prize.”
THE BLESSEDNESS OF GIVING
It is only through faithfulness in discharging the responsibilities of our stewardship that we may expect to enjoy the fullness of divine blessings, both now and in the future. If we keep for ourselves that which belongs to the Lord, we are sure to become spiritually impoverished as a result. Faithfulness both in guarding the truth and dispensing it for the blessing of others are the prerequisites of a rich Christian experience in which our lives day by day are filled with the joy of the Lord. On this point we quote from page 2487 of the Reprints, as follows:
“Hearken to the Word of the Lord to fleshly Israel, in which He says to them, … ‘Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse … and prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.’ Let all who desire to find blessing in rich and overflowing measure take the Lord at His Word, and present to Him the offerings which we have already consecrated, and which are not our own.
“(1) Because they were bought with a price, even the precious blood of Christ, and (2) because recognizing this fact, we solemnly consecrated ourselves to the Lord—presented our bodies living sacrifices in His service. Let us resolve for the future to bring to the full measure of our ability a reasonable service, rendering of time and influence and talent and means to the Lord and to His cause, to His service—that the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts may be pleasing to Him: and let us seek that all our acts of life may be living epistles, read and known of all men, showing forth the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous right.
“And not only so, but let us, in proportion as we have been lax or careless in the past, and unfaithful to our vows, put forth renewed energy, to compensate, so far as possible, for past neglect, ‘redeeming the time,’ remembering also that ‘the days are evil’—that the times in which we live are unfavorable, that the tendency of our day is toward selfishness and worldliness more and more.
“Those whose consecration will be thus revived will no longer find themselves more interested in worldly riches, and the meat that perisheth, than spiritual riches and the bread of eternal life, and contrariwise will seek and find opportunities, not only for serving the Lord in their ordinary vocation, but also will seek and find special opportunities of service. This will include the rendering to the Lord of thanks and worship. For in proportion as each becomes earnestly desirous of rendering service to the Lord, and of keeping his heart in the love of God, he will find it desirable, yea, necessary, to seek supplies at the throne of grace and the family altar daily, as well as to lift up his heart frequently in private to the Lord, in thankfulness or in prayer for help in time of need.
“And likewise, at the close of every day, those who have been desirous of pleasing and serving the Lord will desire to render their report at the close of the day, and to inspect themselves and the efforts which they have made, that thus they may stimulate themselves in the heavenly race, and renew their vows of consecration. Moreover, those who are thus wholly consecrated to the Lord, and seek first or chiefly His righteousness and a share in His Kingdom, will very generally find opportunities for meeting together with others of like precious faith, to encourage one another, and to build one another up in the most holy faith, and so much the more as we see the day drawing on.”