The 10-Point Checklist for a Life of Stewardship
Christian stewardship is often spoken about as offering our resources instead of ourselves to God. In this blog, we share The Stewardship Checklist for living a life wholly dedicated to divine service.
A Living & Continuous Sacrifice
There’s an old story of a small boy who attended church one Sunday morning. As the offering plate was passed, he became aware he had money to give. So, when the plate made it to him, he set it on the ground, and with his poor bare feet, he stood inside it. He said, “Jesus, I have nothing to give you today but just me. I give you me!”
Much has been said about stewardship regarding the giving of our tithes (our first fruits), spiritual gifts, abilities, talents, and all our possessions in service to God. Still, we don’t want to miss the most important point of stewardship—the giving of ourselves to God.
We are all being asked to step up to the plate in our stewardship commitment, but first, we must decide whether we will step into the plate. Have you stepped into the offering plate yet? Have you said, “Lord, I give you me?” We are the offering that God desires most.
APOSTLE PAUL: “I appeal to you [I beg you] therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [to offer your lives] as a living sacrifice [in contrast to a dead sacrifice. A living one implies the practice of constant dedication], holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Romans 12:1 (emphasis and context added)
We are to bring our lives to the altar of God continually, daily, and lay them down!
To the Greeks, only the spirit mattered, but the body was only a prison, something to be despised and even ashamed of. But the Apostle Paul helps to frame how we should think about the body. He said that for the person who genuinely loves the Lord, they love their body because they believe that our bodies belong to God just as much as our souls do.
We are called to worship and serve God with all that we are, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Paul calls our bodies “temples of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 3:16) and encourages us to give them to God because we are not our own, but we have been bought with a price. “Therefore, honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:20).
“Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.” Romans 6:13
“The Christian is to present himself in the whole of his concrete life to God as a sacrifice” (Cranfield, 294). That means we are to “Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it all before God as an offering” (Romans 12:1-2 MSG). Lord, all of me for all of Thee!
Christian writer Corrie Ten Boom said that she had to get a fresh anointing of grace every day because if she didn’t, she forgot everything she had learned the day before. What a holy exchange. When we lay our lives down, we experience God’s fresh touch.
Christian stewardship is about how we care for and handle ourselves, what we do with ourselves, and ultimately re-gift ourselves to God.
The only way to fully understand stewardship is on our knees. David was far from perfect, but he continually offered himself to God by praying. He wanted to live a life that pleased God in every aspect of his inner and outer life. He prayed: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).
God desires that David’s prayers would become our own.
Checklist for a Life of Stewardship
1) Mouth
The Bible has a lot to say about our mouths; What we say matters!
Our words can kill, or they can cure. They can hurt, or they can heal. They have within them the power of life and death (Proverbs 18:21a). They are either instruments of Heaven or Hell. Are you paying attention to what’s coming out of your mouth?
Colossians 4:6 encourages us to “Let your speech be gracious (grace-filled), and seasoned with salt (preserving and healing).” We’re called to speak God’s Word, truth, love, and grace.
If your tongue gets you in trouble, take it to the altar! Isaiah recognized the same need in his life. He said, “I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5). God touched his mouth with fire from the altar, and he experienced God’s fresh touch.
So, when David prayed, “Lord, I give you my mouth,” we are to bring our mouths to the altar of God continually.
2) Meditation
The Bible has a lot to say about our thoughts; What we think matters!
David prayed, “Let the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you” (Psalm 19:14). Before saying that, he encouraged us to read the two best books ever written.
The first is the Book of Nature. He says we are to meditate on and mull over the handiwork of God’s creation. We’re to read and meditate on it. We’re to let God speak to us about how creative He is and how powerful He is. We’re to read that book because it reveals the majesty and glory of His name.
The second book is the Book of Scripture, in which God reveals His saving, transforming love for us. In Philippians 4:8, Paul said, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
We need this reminder because our mind is a battlefield. Our thoughts can easily get stuck on trivial matters (worries), traumatic matters (wounds), or trash (whatever the Enemy feeds us) rather than the beauty of God’s creation and the treasures of His Word.
I have this thing about trash. I don’t like it left overnight because it doesn’t take long to stink. I make sure almost every night that it gets taken out. If our minds are not renewed daily, they become prey to “stinkin’ thinkin’.” We all need God’s fresh touch on our minds.
3) Manners
The Bible has a lot to say about our manners; How we treat others matters!
Jesus said, “Treat others the way you desire to be treated” (Luke 6:31). Paul also wrote, “…show perfect courtesy toward all people” (Titus 3:2).
We should treat others with the courtesies of Heaven (the fruit of the Holy Spirit) or in a God-honoring way. We can’t be filled with the Holy Spirit and act like the devil!
The American dancer Fred Astaire said, “The hardest job kids face today is learning good manners without seeing any.” Manners are learned. Minister and writer Alexander Maclaren said, “Manners make a person attractive. If you want to win the world, melt it; don’t hammer it.”
We should pray, “Lord, I give you my manners,” and place them at the altar.
4) Moods
The Bible has a lot to say about moods and attitudes because moods matter, and we all have them. A mood is a temporary state of mind or feeling. However, it can become habitual. Moods can be a menace to others or a mercy.
A moody Christian is a contradiction in terms. Our moods have a way of contradicting our faith, mocking our witness (we can’t share the good news and be the bad news), and causing havoc in our relationships. They must be confronted and laid on the altar of God.
The good news is that they can be transformed. Notice how the Psalmist begins many Psalms in complaint but works through to praise by the end.
We should pray, “Lord, I give you my moods.”
5) Motives
The Bible says a lot about motives and why we do what we do; Motives matter!
Proverbs 16:2 says, “All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord.” God is the discerner of the thoughts and intents of our hearts (Hebrews 4:12). We either do what we do for the praise of others, the benefit of self, or to please the Lord.
Without bringing our motives before the Lord in prayer, they will be messed up or mixed up. Prayer is the filter. Have you ever noticed that paint left unused for a while gets rubbery or like plastic? They have these paint screens that you can pour the paint through, and the lumps stick to the screen while letting the paint pass through. If you don’t use the screen, your roller will be filled with blobs of plastic paint.
Jesus is the only way back to a place of purity. We must lay our motives at the altar regularly as part of our Christ stewardship. We must say, “Lord, we want to do what we do to please you because we love you.” That should be our highest motive. Not the benefit of self or applause, but because we love you.
We should pray, “Lord, filter my motives until they are pure again, and I learn to do what I do for you!”
6) Methods
The Bible not only says a lot about why we do something but how we do something. Our method of doing something matters!
Are our methods God-honoring? Do we cut corners, cheat people, or half-heartedly do half-hearted work?
When we do something, it needs to be in a God-honoring way. Even if we don’t reach the desired result, if our motive is to do that for the Lord, God will honor that. But if we cut corners and do it in a way that doesn’t represent God’s heart or honor Him, we will eventually reap a consequence for that.
7) Ministry
Everyone may not have a pulpit ministry, such as a preacher, but we have all been called to the purpose of the Gospels. We have no ministry without God being the center and power of it. A ministry that costs nothing accomplishes nothing.
Every one of us needs a fresh touch from God when it comes to how we view the ministries that God has given to us. After all, they’re not just ours, they’re His. God wants our ministry because, with His fresh touch and anointing, He can break down strongholds in people’s lives.
We should pray, “Lord, thank you for calling and recalling me. I need your fresh touch!”
8) Marriage
It’s a mystery to me how God places two people together. We come with all types of baggage and imperfections, but God melds our hearts together. There’s no gift like having Christ in the center of your marriage.
It is amazing how much we take our mates for granted. We need to lay our marriage on the altar regularly and ask:
“Am I honoring my vows with my whole heart?”
“What is it like to be married to me?”
We should pray, “Lord, I want to lay our marriage at the altar. We need a fresh touch beneath what you purchased for us to live.” If you’re not married, pray, “God, thank you for being the best spouse of my soul I could ever have.”
9) Money
The Bible says a lot about money; Giving matters.
“Honor the Lord with your wealth – with the first fruits.” Proverbs 3:9
“Don’t be stingy (don’t hold back) as your wine vats fill up.” Exodus 22:29-30 MSG (context added)
Giving ensures that money remains a tool for God, not a drug for ourselves.
“I’ve had people come to me and confess that they struggle with almost every kind of sin. Almost. I cannot recall anyone ever coming to me and saying, “I spend too much money on myself. I think my greedy lust for money is harming my family, my soul, and the people around me.” Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods (Dutton, 2009, p. 52).
The more God blesses us, the more we should want to give because we do not want to be victims to greed and blindness of heart.
We should pray, “Lord, I give you my money.”
10) Membership
No one joined a club but committed to a spiritual family in membership. But many are never here and do nothing to support the family.
Joining a church is unlike joining the Y, the local country club, or the Lion’s Club. While those are all wonderful gifts to the community, joining a church is very different. By doing so, we are joining a spiritual family here and taking membership vows to honor God with our time, resources, and spiritual gifts. We are a part of what God does in each other’s lives.
We should pray, “Lord, renew our commitment to the church. I give you membership and place it at the altar. Please stir my desire to serve you and the body. Today is a time to renew our commitment.
Final Question: Have you stepped into the offering plate yet? Have you laid the total of what you are, who you are, on the altar to be at his disposal? Have you said, “Lord, I give you me?”
TL;DR
Christian stewardship is about how we care for and handle ourselves, what we do with ourselves, and ultimately regifting ourselves to God.
God desires our personal dedication, beyond our tithes and talents. We are to present our bodies as living and constant sacrifices and offerings.
Key aspects of a stewardship life include;
Mouth
Meditation
Manners
Moods
Motives
Methods
Ministry
Marriage
Money
10. Membership
Each element is to be consecrated to God, promoting a life of worship and servitude.
Related Reading
How to Manage God’s Gifts for His Glory by Rev. Paul Lawler
Beyond Bread and Fishes: A Message of Trusting God by Rev. Paul Lawler
The Temple Tax: A Stewardship Poem by William Merriman