This word, “Steward,” has been on my mind for the last week and what does it mean? We’ve heard this word in reference to “being a good steward” as it relates to giving financial means back to our Lord, but what does “stewarding” connotate in relation to body, soul, mind, and spirit? Should we be a “steward” of all of these?
Well, the simple answer is “yes.”
Reinhold Neibuhr is famous for the following prayer:
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardship as the pathway to peace. Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it. Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will; that I may be reasonable happy in this life, and supremely happy with Him forever in the next. Amen.”
My Mom had this framed in cross-stitch and in our house growing up and I remember memorizing for some reason. I’m not sure why I chose to do so, as I now think about it, but I did. I saw it every day and it still stands the test of time and continues to be timeless in life itself as manifold good wisdom.
Steward-ess often comes to mind when you think of the word “steward” and the word is rarely used anymore to refer to airline flight attendants. But, it’s a good place to start. When you think of “stewardess,” what do you think of? Serving you, drinks, eats, anything you need, pretty, nice, good-looking, pair of airline wings for your kids, sharp, well spoken…yes, all of those things. The same is true of “stewarding” YOU…you and I must become a good steward to ourselves giving ourselves love, mercy, grace, and confidence, first and foremost, so that we can become what God left us to be- a servant and lover of others. Without a good YOU, there are no “others” to experience YOU or to serve because YOU will not be on the planet. This thought is often not found “in the manual” because we consider it selfish. Not so.
Every single day we decide what we will steward…our time, energy, money, words, attitudes, emotions, love, patience, kindness, compassion, and more. The 30,000-foot view of all of these subsets of words is the mind, body, soul, and spirit. Everything that happens flows out of these four words. God made them all, gave them to us, and considers them all “created in His image,” all for good and not evil.
So, how would one approach each day stewarding these four areas?
BODY
Our physical bodies are essential to life, and when the body is destroyed, the soul and mind cannot function in this earthly environment. Learn to steward your body in such a way as to add to it what makes it “new” and productive and take from it what makes it “old” and ineffective. Put your body in the midst of the best of the best in friends, doctors, coaches, counselors, colleagues, mentors, and advisers. These kinds of people truly care about you, so take their advice regarding how to ramp up your body for the different seasons of your life. Where are you today? ¼ of the way in on life; ½ way in on life; or maybe ¾ in on your journey of life. All of us can steward our bodies in all kinds of fresh and new ways. Now, is the time…we must take good care of our physical bodies; it will determine how long we live here on earth. Get off the sofa and do something good for your health. Stewarding your body with the necessary discipline to grow your body, change your body, add value to your body, and feel peak efficient in your body adds confidence, and raises your self-awareness capabilities within the mind, soul, and spirit. Good body stewardship allows your radar to rise in all areas of your life and you will live “on fire” extricating out of life all God has for you.
Receive that you are getting “older” but refuse to “age.” If you “age,” you will treat your body as a worn-out couch. Truth is, we don’t treat worn-out couches the same way we treat new ones. When you are seeing your body as continually “new,” you treat yourself differently and therefore treat others differently…more love, escalated freedoms, longer life potential, and more exuded joy.
When the body dies, earthly life ends!
SOUL
The soul is often difficult to define and understand. We cannot see the soul. We cannot touch the soul. According to the Greek definition, we understand the soul to be: “The breath of life.” “The seat of religious and moral sentiment.” “The inner self.” The soul, according to the Bible, is the eternal life that God breathed into humans. It is our spiritual life. It is our communication link with God.
I urge you to develop a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, His Son. Accept the forgiveness and salvation Jesus is offering you.
Romans 10:9-10:
“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation
Stewarding the soul is to offer yourself a candidate for God to redeem you…according to Romans 8:9-10 above. That is ultimate stewardship!!!
MIND
The Greek meaning of the mind: “To take thought.” “To be of opinion.”
The mind seems to be the control panel where thoughts and opinions are formed and then recorded in the brain cells. It would seem that the mind greatly influences the soul and physical actions. God has given us the power to direct and control our thought lives/minds. We get to choose what we do with our minds…it’s either idle or in gear. All things we choose to “think on” directly influence our thoughts, opinions, and actions. Stewarding our mind is a daily discipline. We can change the neural pathways in our brains to overcome “stuck-ness” that we dislike in our lives put there by environments, suppressors in our lives, habits, generational curses, and people. If you don’t like what “you” do at times, and it continues to affect you and others in a negative way, then make a change. It can be done. Don’t settle for “this is just who I am.” No it’s not. It’s who you became by easy, natural, default. To make a change requires you making hard calls about the stewardship of your mind. It takes time to pour in new material so that by rote and repetition, you eventually become a different person; and, that really pleases the Lord Jesus. It will take gathering, acquiring, reading, listening, and tirelessly pouring in “the new.”
The apostle Paul puts the responsibility directly on each of us: “You present your bodies.” “Your reasonable service.” ”Renewing of your mind.”
SPIRIT
When Jesus returned to heaven He left us with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells inside the temple of God. Who’s that temple?
In the scripture, and specifically,1 Corinthians…
“Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, who you received from God.”
You are!
Each person who chooses to follow Christ becomes the temple of God, the Spirit’s dwelling place. Rely on the Holy Spirit to help you steward everything we’ve mentioned above. This Holy Spirit is not last. He is first in the process. But, He is often forgotten and overlooked.
Stewardship is a personal privilege for each of us. These are the things we’re left to steward until Jesus returns or we die and enter our eternal home.
