The Steward’s Accountability - Luke 16:1
Introductory Thoughts
A steward is someone responsible to care for the goods of another. He is accountable to his master for the way that he handles the responsibility. In this parable, a steward was accused of wasting the rich man’s goods. This was such a serious charge that the rich man called for the steward to give an accounting of his stewardship. The Lord expressed a similar truth in another parable found in Luke 19:11-27. In this parable, several servants invested their goods and accrued interest, but one servant simply hid his pound which resulted in no gain. The lord of that servant was so upset with this slothful servant that he took the pound away from him and gave it to one of the others. Remember that it is not up to the steward to choose how to spend that which belongs to the master.
Devotional Thoughts
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(For children): Potiphar, an officer in Pharoah's army, put Joseph in charge of everything inside his house and on his property. Joseph feared God and could be trusted as a good steward. In fact, Joseph was so trusted that Potiphar never had to question how Joseph spent Potiphar's money (Genesis 39:5-6).
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(For everyone): To whom do your money and your possessions ultimately belong? If they do not belong to you, what does this mean about your level of accountability?
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How are you accountable to God for the money that you have? How are you accountable to Him for the way in which you use your substance?
Prayer Thoughts
- Ask the Lord to show you that nothing truly belongs to you.
- Ask God to help you not waste that which He has entrusted to you.
Song
TRUST, TRY, AND PROVE ME
