Living as Stewards - Proverbs 28:18-27

Marc Minter

FBC Diana

How Should We Live? • Sermon • Submitted 9 months ago • Presented 9 months ago

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Main Point: All people live as stewards of God’s resources, and Christians especially must steward their time, treasure, and talent as citizens of Christ’s kingdom.

Notes

Transcript

Introduction

Friends, today we are going to talk about money. No, we’re not starting a fund-raising campaign, and last I checked we are on track to meet our annual church budget. This is not that kind of sermon.

In fact, money is only a part of what I’ve planned to cover under the heading of stewardship. In a real sense, I’m going to be calling us all to give far more than just our money in the service of Christ and others in the world. My challenge for us today is that we will all live our whole lives, giving everything we have (our time, our treasure, and our talent) to the glory of God, to enjoying Him, and to serving Him as stewards of His good gifts.

Today is another installment in our series “How Should We Live?” We’re covering various practical topics on Christian living in the world, so that we will all think more deeply about what it means to be a Christian and how we ought to live distinctly as Christians in this present world.

Christians are (by definition) distinct from the world. Christians believe the gospel of Christ, Christians assemble together in the name of Christ, and Christians covenant with one another to follow and obey Christ.

From this distinct starting point, Christian living travels an entirely different path from that of the rest of the world. We learn to be men and women differently than the world, we get married and stay married different than the world, we parent and disciple our children differently than the world, we practice a different work ethic than others in the world, and we understand that our time in this world is lived as stewards of God’s resources… and this makes us use our time, our treasure, and our talent far differently than others in the world.

Today is going to be a topical sermon. As I’ve said many times before, we intentionally aim for the primary diet of preaching here to be expositional… where the point of the biblical text is the point of the sermon. But occasionally, we also find it useful to preach topical sermons that address some issue or challenge we’re facing as a church in our specific culture and geography.

Throughout 2023, I have preached on various topics each month, and (Lord willing) will continue to do. These sermons are all aimed at practical Christian living. They begin with a primary Scripture text, but I also try to reach out across the whole Bible to explain and apply a summary of what all of Scripture has to say on the subject. This is more of a pastorally applied systematic theology than a biblical exposition. And both methods are useful in their own way.

The subject at hand today is stewardship; and I’m arguing that all people live as stewards of God’s resources, and Christians especially must steward their time, treasure, and talent as citizens of Christ’s kingdom.

Let’s begin by reading from Proverbs 28, and let’s consider what the Bible has to say about stewardship together…

Scripture Reading

Proverbs 28:18–27 (ESV)

18 Whoever walks in integrity will be delivered, but he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall.

19 Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.

20 A faithful man will abound with blessings, but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.

21 To show partiality is not good, but for a piece of bread a man will do wrong.

22 A stingy man hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty will come upon him.

23 Whoever rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than he who flatters with his tongue.

24 Whoever robs his father or his mother and says, “That is no transgression,” is a companion to a man who destroys.

25 A greedy man stirs up strife, but the one who trusts in the LORD will be enriched.

26 Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.

27 Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.

Main Idea:

All people live as stewards of God’s resources, and Christians especially must steward their time, treasure, and talent as citizens of Christ’s kingdom.

Sermon

1. Beginning of Stewardship

The purpose of the book of Proverbs is to teach young men how to become good men. This whole book is a compilation of wise sayings from King Solomon, who was widely known in his own day as the wisest man alive (1 Kings 10:6). These sayings can seem a bit random after the first 9 chapters, but in summary they present two ways to live – the way of wisdom or the way of folly.

You can see this contrast in what is probably the central proverb of the whole book, Proverbs 1:7 – “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge [which is a cousin of “wisdom” and a necessary precondition for it]; [but] fools despise wisdom and instruction.” In other words, the one who wants to grow in “knowledge” (and to become wise in the application of it) must begin by “fearing” or reverencing or honoring God. But those who “despise” or show contempt for or trample under foot “wisdom and instruction” are now and will always be “fools.”

The fool thinks he already knows… he thinks he doesn’t need to know… or he thinks that learning to know more is a useless waste of time. And this posture of pride, cynicism, and carelessness affects everything else in the life of a fool. He or she makes foolish decisions of all sorts… with time, with treasure, and with talent.

But the wise person does not embrace such a foolish posture. He begins by recognizing that there is much that he does not know… she is very interested to learn about those things that wise people around her seem to prioritize… and the very act of gaining new knowledge is an eager joy. And this posture also affects everything else in the life of a wise person. He or she tends to make wiser decisions of all sorts… with time, with treasure, and with talent.

The main or chief difference between the wise person and the fool throughout the book of Proverbs is their different perspectives. The wise person begins with a healthy “fear” of God (Prov. 1:7), and the fool sets his or her heart on nothing more than momentary pleasure.

The wise person ponders: “Who is God, and what is He like?” But the fool thinks: “There is no God; so, let me have what I want.”

The wise person asks: “What is God’s design (for me and everything else), and how might I align with it?” But the fool thinks: “There is no design or intentionality; so, let me do what I want and do it how I want.”

The wise person understands: “You only live once, so spend your life well.” But the fool thinks: “You only live once, so live it up while you can.”

These are two extremes, but all of us will find ourselves pulling in one direction or the other (toward wisdom or folly). If we’re honest, we are probably bouncing from one side to the other multiple times a day every day. One minute we can seem to show wisdom, and the next we show just how foolish we can be.

Now, the reason I’m starting a sermon on stewardship by talking so much about wisdom is because the same principles that distinguish wisdom from folly also distinguish a steward from a squatter. The steward, like the wise person, begins with a healthy fear of God and an understanding that God is the source of all that I am and all that I have. But the squatter, like the fool, lives carelessly at the expense of others. The squatter doesn’t care that someone else owns the house, he doesn’t invest in maintaining the property, and he doesn’t pay any attention to neighborhood concerns (because this isn’t even his neighborhood!).

Friends, in this world and with our whole lives, we must decide whether we are going to live like squatters on God’s property or like stewards of God’s generous gifts. And in order to get this right, we must begin by embracing the fact that God is the creator and sustainer of universe… and as such, everything (including me!) belongs to Him. He owns it, He’s in charge of it, and He is free to distribute His own resources according to His own purposes and plans.

The beginning of stewardship is like the beginning of wisdom; it begins with a healthy fear of God. It begins by understanding that God is the ultimate owner and source of everything. It begins by taking on the perspective that God will call us all to account one day, and we must use the time, the treasure, and the talent (or gifts) He’s given us for the glory of His name and the good of ourselves and others.

In short, we must live as stewards, not squatters.

2. Principles for Stewardship

Notice with me that these proverbs we are considering this morning do not teach naïve idealism. These are not principles for living well in an ideal world (or in the best of circumstances)… these are principles for living a wise and blessed life in the fallen world as it is. These proverbs speak of a world that has “plenty of poverty” (v19), sometimes men need to be “rebuked” (v23), sometimes people will “do wrong” to get what they need (v21), and there are both “poor” people as well as those who “hide” their “eyes” from the poor (v27).

This is not an ideal world; this is the world as it is. The proverbs we’re reading this morning may have been written thousands of years ago, but human nature has not changed… and the world we all encounter is still plagued by the same social, economic, and political tumult (both on the large and the small scale).

Nevertheless, we do not find in the Proverbs a pessimistic call to despair. No, we find an earnest fatherly call to discretion and diligence and duty. The wise father urges his reader to “walk in integrity” (v18), to “work his land” (v19), to be “faithful” (v20), to “rebuke” those who need it (v23), to honor “father” and “mother” (v24), to “walk in wisdom” (v26), and “give” aid to “the poor” (v27).

Therefore, the first principle we can learn from these proverbs today is that God must intend more for us than mere wealth and pleasure. If God wanted to, He could ensure that every person everywhere has the food and shelter and provision they need. But God does not normally provide such things by way of miracle. Instead, God has intended that the very means by which the basic necessities of life are acquired is through the application of various character qualities.

Wanting “plenty of bread” can motivate a good man to “work his land” [i.e., make diligent use of his time and effort] (v19), but it can also motivate others to “do wrong” (v21), to “hasten after [or “be overly eager to get”] wealth,” and to be “stingy” with their means (v22). Both the good man and the wicked man are aiming to gain in resources, so that must not be the difference maker here.

The difference is that the good man enjoys the fruit of his wise living, whereas the wicked man only harms himself and others as he chases after gain instead of wisdom. For the good man, wisdom is the prize and diligence the guide, and all the rest are simply the benefits that come along with it. For the wicked or foolish man, wealth (or pleasure) is the prize, and he doesn’t care what he has to do or who he has to harm, neglect, or scam to get it.

The first principle of stewardship, then, is that God allocates the resources of creation (time, treasure, and talent) for a bigger and more important purpose than personal luxury or wealth. Like everything in creation, the highest purpose (or chief end) of our time, our treasure, and our talent is to glorify God and to enjoy Him. As the author of Proverbs prays near the end, we want to say to God, “give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God” (Prov. 30:9).

But there are other principles for stewardship we can gain from our reading of these proverbs this morning. Let’s draw out and consider 2 more of them.

The first is that God has made us stewards of His stuff in order for us to give Him glory and to enjoy Him (at least in part) through the enjoyment and use of what He has given us. The second principle in our text is that stewardship necessitates integrity and diligence and wisdom. Look at v18 with me.

“Whoever walks in integrity will be delivered, but he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall” (v18). No doubt, this can ultimately be applied to God’s final judgment – the person who walks in “integrity” or “uprightly” (KJV) or “blamelessly” (NIV) will “be delivered” on the last day… but the person who is “crooked” or “perverse” (KJV) will “suddenly fall.”

Friends, we must always remember that what we do in this life will be judged, finally and ultimately. God will call us to account for what we’ve done and for how we’ve lived. And none of us can say that we’ve always walked in “integrity.” We are all blameworthy because we have all walked crooked paths that have deviated from God’s righteous standard.

But, the rest of the Bible reminds us that blameworthy sinners can be forgiven through the person and work of Jesus Christ, so we must all confess our sin, turn away from it, and trust in the Savior God has provided. Because Jesus did walk in perfect integrity, because He suffered in the place of blameworthy sinners, and because Jesus rose again from the dead… we who believe and follow Him can be assured that on the last day we will be counted blameless, not because of our own upright lives, but because of Christ’s life and death in our place.

If you’re here today, and you want to know more about what it means to trust in Christ or to follow Him as a Christian, then come and talk with me about it after the service is over.

But the proverbs are not teaching us about salvation. This passage is telling us how to live wise lives in this world, even as we (as believing Christians) await the world to come. Back to v18, the good steward (the wise person) is one who “walks in integrity.” He or she will be “delivered” from the consequences that come to those in this world whose way is “crooked.” In other words, when you steward your time, your treasure, and your talent with honesty, with integrity, and with virtue, you will not (generally speaking) suffer sudden and unexpected loss.

Now, I need to point out here that the proverbs are not promises; they are truisms. They are not guarantees; they are axioms or sayings that are generally true. In a fallen world, wise living can sometimes still lead to suffering, pain, and loss. But it is generally true (even in a fallen world) that honesty, integrity, and virtue will pay off in the long run. And that’s what we see taught here.

The same is true in v19. “Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread” (v19). This speaks of diligence in the form of activity. The one who is diligent in the doing of good work (on the job, at home, in the community) will generally enjoy the fruit of his or her labor.

But the one “who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty” (v19). Note that both sorts of people here are active. The diligent worker and the follower of “worthless” or “vain” (KJV) or “empty” (NASB) pursuits, they both are giving their time and energy to something. The one is giving time to the doing of good work, and the other is giving time to “chasing fantasies” (NIV).

Friends, we all spend our time, treasure, and talent. The choice we have is whether to spend such things on that which is worthwhile or on that which is worthless. My oldest son and I have had many conversations about something called “Dude Perfect.” Four guys (all in their 30s now) became YouTube celebrities by recording themselves doing trick shots. Picture young sports fanatics with a lot of free time, money to create elaborate set ups, and a video camera.

The conversations that Micah and I have had revolve around whether or not he should make it his life goal to be a “Dude Perfect” guy. It doesn’t help my case that those guys have become multi-millionaires, and they also seem to be decently moral. They all have young families, and they don’t encourage their viewers to indulge in the common debauchery among American youth culture.

But most young men who spend all their time playing around like boys don’t end up with a family, a career, and a life they can be proud of. They usually end up living like bums, mooching off of their parents or anyone else who will give them what they need and let them do what they want.

Whatever you think of professional entertainers or online influencers, the questions we ought to be regularly asking ourselves are: “Am I spending the bulk of my time on stuff that’s worthwhile?” and “Am I being diligent in the tasks that matter?” and “Am I being productive with what God has given me?”

I’m not saying that we ought never watch TV or play games or enjoy a day of fishing or golfing or just sitting on the back porch enjoying the breeze (in some other glorious place on earth that isn’t 105 degrees in the shade). But I am saying that we ought to make diligent use of the time, the treasure, and the talent God has given us. All these are His, and He has placed them with us for a time, so that we might steward them well by putting them to good use, not waste them.

First, God wants us to know and glorify and enjoy Him by understanding ourselves as stewards. Second, being a good steward of God’s stuff means using our time, treasure, and talent with integrity and diligence. And a third principle of stewardship (very quickly now) is that God intends us to share our abundance.

Look at v22. “A stingy man” [literally “a man with an evil eye” (NASB, KJV)] “hastens after wealth” (v22)… he is “eager to get rich” (NIV). But such a man “does not know that poverty will come upon him” (v22). Either he will be impoverished because his envious schemes don’t work, or (what I think is more likely) a person like this will never be satisfied with what he or she has.

Look also at v24. “Whoever robs his father or his mother and says, ‘That is no transgression,’ is a companion to a man who destroys” (v24). A child might “rob” or take advantage of father and mother in sorts of ways, but the point here is that it is both “transgression” [or sin] and “destructive” to do so.

And one more; look at v27. “Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse” (v27). This one is clear enough. It is no loss to give time and resources to those truly in need, but those who suffer genuine poverty will curse those who have the ability to help but pretend not to see them.

Friends, in these 3 verses we can see that God has designed it so that our abundance of time, treasure, and/or talent will be a benefit to others. When we have a surplus, we ought to look for ways to give back to those who have been a help to us… we ought to invest in others around us… and we ought to be a real help to those we know who are in genuine need.

If we have anything at all, we are stewards, not owners. God wants us to know Him and glorify Him and enjoy Him in the way we use His stuff. God wants us to be honest and diligent in our role as stewards. And God wants us to think of our abundance as opportunities to cheerfully give and not hoard.

3. Our Practical Stewardship

Now that we’ve done some heavy lifting, establishing a foundation for stewardship and drawing out some principles, let’s use the reminder of our time this morning to think about practical ways we can live as good stewards of God’s stuff in the world. Let me offer various examples under each of the three headings I’ve already mentioned several times – our time, our treasure, and our talent.

To be a steward is to take charge of something that is not ultimately yours. Stewarding is a delegated responsibility that comes along with the authority to arrange, to order, to prioritize, and to spend. Of course, the steward is answerable to the owner, but the steward is authorized to use the owner’s stuff intentionally.

Therefore, to be a steward (and not a squatter) is to be intentional or thoughtful or wise with the time, treasure, and talent God has given to each of us. “Look carefully then how you walk,” the Scripture says, “not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:15-17).

First, we must learn to steward our time. The Psalmist prayed, “teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:2).

Maybe you are like me, and you like to use a calendar. Maybe you are the opposite, and you feel that a schedule is too stifling. Either way, we must all come to grips with the fact that our time is a resource that God has given us. We only have so much of it, and we must use it well.

I read a book a while back called “4,000 Weeks.” The author is an atheist, and he didn’t prioritize the same way I do, but I thought the main point of the book was quite good. If you live to the average life expectancy, you will have lived about 4,000 weeks in total. Some of us have a lot less than that left, but all of us have a limited number of weeks and days to live.

How are you making an effort to spend your weeks well? Are you constantly putting off to tomorrow the more important things, so that you can just relax today? Don’t you know that we aren’t promised tomorrow?

What’s your plan? How do you prioritize your time? How do you decide to do this and not that? And what ought you be doing that you are not currently doing?

The only way you and I will accomplish anything of importance is if we give it the time it needs. And we cannot simply let life happen to us. If we do, then we will look back on the days that have passed, and we will realize that we’ve been very poor stewards of the time God has given us.

Brothers and sisters, let’s aim to be good stewards. Let’s make plans… let’s set goals… let’s resolve to make the best use of our time.

The Puritans of the seventeenth century were awesome at this. Sometimes people make “New Year’s resolutions,” but they made daily, weekly, and monthly resolutions… and they checked themselves regularly to see how they were doing.

Jonathan Edwards lived in what became New Hampshire in the early 1700s, so he was not a Puritan in the technical sense, but he certainly lived like one. He is famous for many things, but one feature of his historical fame is his list of 70 resolutions.[i] He resolved “never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.” And “never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.” And “that I will live [the way I will want to have lived] when I come to die.”

We all have different size bank accounts and different sets of skill and interests, but we all have the exact same amount of time each day. We ought to use it to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. We ought to use it to work diligently in the world for our own advancement and for the good of others. We ought to use it to glorify God and to enjoy Him… as we serve our Lord and Master… and as we gratefully receive the incredible gift He’s given us – time.

May God help us to strive to be good stewards with our time.

Second, we must learn steward our treasure (or our money and other assets). Jesus was talking about taking discipleship seriously when He asked, “which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” (Lk. 14:28). But His point there relates to our subject today. Only a fool sets out to spend his resources without knowing how much he has and what it will cost him.

One common but terrible mistake people can make (including Christians) is to not know how much we have. I’ve known many people who simply spend the money they’ve got until it’s gone… and then they do it again when they get their next paycheck. My mom was a single mother for most of my childhood, and I can remember her cashing her paychecks at payday loan places. I didn’t know it then, but what she was doing was giving a good chunk of her earnings to a loan shark because she’d borrowed money she didn’t have at outrageous interest.

Friends, this is a terrible practice! Not many of us can pay cash for a house or a car, so I’m not suggesting that we never take on any debt. But I am arguing that most of us can reasonably estimate how much money we’re going to have as income this month, and we ought to make it a point to know what that number is.

Furthermore, I’m arguing that it is foolish to needlessly spend money that we don’t have and that we won’t have. We ought to know our limits (both our present expenses and those we will likely have in the near future), and we ought to live within them as best as we can. To do otherwise is bad stewardship.

I should also note here that if you’re a church member, and you are in dire need of money you don’t have, then don’t go get a high interest loan or charge up a credit card. Make your need known to some fellow church members and give others the opportunity to be a blessing to you. Don’t let pride sink you into a financial hole… it will be far more embarrassing in the long run… and helping fellow church members in need is what Christians do!

This leads us into further application of financial stewardship. When we do steward our resources well, we will often find that we have a surplus of income. Some of us will have more, and some of us will have less, but we ought to look for ways to share what abundance we have with others according to God’s commands.

As I’ve already said, we ought to share in the financial burdens of fellow church members when we learn of them and when we have the ability to do it. We ought to contribute to the ongoing ministry of the local church… since we are great beneficiaries of it… and since it won’t continue very well or for very long if we don’t finance it. We ought to supply efforts to make disciples elsewhere, through church planting and revitalization (both domestically and abroad). And we ought to invest in ways that will increase our resources, increasing our ability to share an even greater surplus in the future.

If we live as squatters in the world, then we will likely think of money as something to be spent on ourselves or lost. But if we live as stewards of God’s resources, then we will think of money as God’s gift to be put to good use in our own lives and that of others… to the glory of God and the enjoyment of His gifts.

May God help us to strive to be good stewards with our treasure.

Third, we must learn to steward our talent (or our gifts, experiences, and interests). The Apostle Paul urged the church of Corinth to start thinking about their talents or gifts as something to be put to good use. He wrote, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:4-7).

The Bible teaches us (as we’ve talked about many times before) that our life experiences, our personality traits, our areas of interest, and our skills are not primarily for us. These are to be used in the service or ministry of others. For the Christian, this is true both in the world and among the church.

Do you have life experience that might be a benefit to a younger church member? Do you have a skill or personal interest that someone else lacks? Are you wired to enjoy accounting or teaching or building or logistics or budgeting or fixing stuff or empathizing or problem solving?

Why do we sometimes think of our interests as strengths, and look down on others as weak because they do not share our same interests? Why not use our strengths to benefit each other?! We may just learn that our handyman friends and our bookish friends… our introverted friends and our extroverted friends… they can all be a great help to us at different times!

May God help us to think of our talent as gifts from God to be used in the service of Christ’s kingdom for the good of others.

Conclusion

Friends, as always, there is more we might say in practical application of the subject and principles we’ve been considering today. As I said earlier, the perspective we have will affect the way we see everything… and if we begin with the foundational truth that God is the true owner of everything and we are merely stewards of His resources… then our whole lives will end up looking far different than they would if we lived as squatters in this world.

For Christians, we are doubly responsible to live as God’s stewards with our time, treasure, and talent. For we know that we’ve been made stewards by God’s sheer grace. He not only owns us and everything else because He is our creator… He has purchased us from under our debt of sin by the life of His own Son.

The Scripture calls us, therefore, to “present [our] bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is [our] spiritual worship” (Rom. 12:1). May God help us to offer ourselves daily (all that we have and all that we are), and may He help us to live as stewards of His wonderful gifts… until we meet the Master face to face.

Endnotes

[i] See all of them here: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-resolutions-of-jonathan-edwards

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Aland, Kurt, Barbara Aland, Johannes Karavidopoulos, Carlo M. Martini, and Bruce M. Metzger, eds. Novum Testamentum Graece. 28th ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2012.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. Logos Research Edition. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.

Schaeffer, Francis A. How Should We Then Live? The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture. Logos Research Edition. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005.

Sproul, R. C., ed. The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition). Logos Research Edition. Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Logos Research Edition. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016.

The Holy Bible: King James Version. Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009.

The Holy Bible: New International Version. Logos Research Edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984.

The NET Bible First Edition. Logos Research Edition. Biblical Studies Press, 2005.

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