November 10, 2024 – Stewardship Sunday Text: 1 Corinthians 4:1-8a
Dear Friends in Christ,
Stewardship is a constant struggle. As human beings made in the image of God, we
are to be stewards of everything God made. The first stewards failed. Do you remember
the “great stewardship crisis” of Genesis 3? Adam and Eve didn’t defend perfection from
the serpent. But their stewardship was not terminated.
Our Creator restored the role of steward. He did this by sending His perfect Son.
This Son Jesus never failed to steward the Word and will of His Father. He paid the price
for our failure. We now strive to reflect the will of the Father, who desires that all men be
saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.
There are dangers. We are saint/sinner at the same time. Too often, we reflect our
will rather than the Lord’s will. Our flesh can fall before the devils’ schemes. Let’s be on
the lookout for . . .

“STEWARDSHIP SELF-SABOTAGE”

Where to begin. Where can the devil start to creep into our hearts and minds with
cunning and craftiness?
When we focus on what we don’t have. Not enough time. I need more money. I
don’t have that skill. We come to the Lord’s Church with everything. Word and Sacrament
ministry. Look at what we do possess. Wow!
Comparison. Comparison is the thief of joy. When we start to compare to
individuals, churches, and those around us, the devil will always make sure that it appears
we are lacking. But this is false. Look at our text. “Moreover, it is required of stewards that
they be found trustworthy.” (v. 2).

Things out of our control. Believe me, I get this one. How about you? We can’t
control how the message of the Gospel is received. The steward is called to be faithful to
what is entrusted to him. We give and serve and trust because we know that the Lord is at
work. We don’t control the results. I learn that every day. How about you?
Discouragement. News media and social media want to airbrush the message of
perfection. This is the devil’s ongoing work. He loves it when we suffer discouragement or
discontentment. This self-sabotage gets us asking, “Did God really say . . .?”
We get distracted. The cares and concerns of the world put us sometimes in a
mental fog. We lose our way with nostalgia or “good old days”, but stewardship happens in
the here and now. May the Holy Spirit help us to remain focused on Jesus the author and
perfecter of our faith. It all flows from him.
Many of you still remember, because I hear your comments, last year’s stewardship
message. We had some challenges I placed before you. And did you respond! We have had
a nice 2024. What I see is the hand of the Lord. In 2023, Janet Evans, our office manager,
and I were figuring things out, especially the last few months, of our stewardship
responsibilities. As we approached 2024 what would life throw our way? Janet was
diagnosed with liver cancer and eventually died. We have not had to worry about finances
in 2024. Joann Hart filled the gap and got bills paid. What a blessing. Do not miss what the
Lord has done. Therein lies the key.
Our text warns against being “puffed up.” The Lord must really be blessed to have
us as His stewards. This attitude will sabotage our stewardship. The Lord carries it out in
and through us. We are not “all that and a bag of chips.”

Repenting of these behaviors is the only answer. Confess daily that we fall short of
the glory of God. The Lord then forgives, renews and restores us. Having been given this
new life in Christ, we live that new life with a different perspective on the whole of our life
and on all the things of this life.
Whether in the church, at work, in school, at home, in the community or traveling,
God’s stewards are God’s stewards. We do it all to His glory as revealed in Holy Scripture.
It is a reflection and expression of God’s love and grace given us through Christ Jesus.
Amen.