ROT of kingdom stewardship

Stewardship is a common topic in Christendom, yet men have not been able to meet up with the standard of God on the subject. Countless men desire to be used of God, but the majority have shown they knew little about what they so desired. What they called stewardship is a position of honour, which would enable them to gratify their selfish ambition. At another extreme end, others ignorantly viewed stewardship as an ignoble task, reserved for nonentities.

What is Stewardship?
A steward is a person who manages or supervises another’s property, especially a large estate. This understanding reveals that stewardship entails the rank cum duties of a steward during a period of time. Three factors to note include, rank, obligations and time (ROT).

Rank in Stewardship
Stewards should acknowledge the fact that there are positions and honours attached to stewardship in the kingdom. Within the kingdom, God-ordained people into different positions and ranks. We are Christians, we are all serving the Lord, but it will be wrong to assume we are all at the same level of authority. Even among the angels in heaven, there is a hierarchy. Some people in stewardship rose to a high position because of the benefits of certain offices occupied. Others grow in stewardship rank, as they increase in knowledge of God and fellowship with Him. In Christian stewardship, God ordained that we grow into different levels of stewardship. This is the divine order.

Obligations in Stewardship
The position assigned to us in stewardship is not to enjoy the pleasures attached, but to take responsibilities. Indeed, high-ranking officers are saddled with higher responsibilities. The duty attached to a particular rank is the most important factor in stewardship. But it saddens the heart that believers in the services of the kingdom today are so curious about the ranking in stewardship and are jeopardising the essentiality of the obligations. The question is: why do we focus on trivial matters and weigh down the weightier matters? Ranking becomes meaningless without the appropriate responsibilities attached to each level.

Time in Stewardship
Note that individual’s stewardship is located within a space of time. This becomes the driving force for Jesus in His earthly days.

He laboured well within His period. (John 9:4) John the Baptist could not have a longer period as expected of him, but he finished his course within the stipulated period. Consequently, our service to God within the kingdom is not for eternity. There is always time assigned to an individual for his/her course. This background knowledge is very essential in order to have an accurate perception of stewardship in the fold.

(From Implication of Stewardship)
Revd. Abimbola Ogundare, Pastor, Peaceway Baptist Church, Ikotun,
12/14 Audu Street, Governor’s Road, Ikotun, Lagos
+234-907-871-2107; peacewaybc@gmail.com