The power to prosper in that which is committed to your care comes from God. Never fall into gotten me this wealth. The counsel of Moses in Deut. 8:11-20 must be taken seriously by every steward of the LORD’S finances. Remember to attribute your success to the grace of God and give Him glory for empowering you to prosper
- The Principle of Distribution
The main purpose of the blessing of the LORD is for you to be a blessing unto others (Gen 12:2J like Abraham. The principle of distribution demands that you be a channel of blessing unto others. The distributor does not stockpile goods in his warehouse but shares them out to others so that they can make their gains like himself. Only the greedy, selfish and wicked people store up the blessings of God for themselves and generations yet unborn as in the case of the rich fool in Luke 12:15-21.
As a steward of the LORD’S finances, you are required to give to the poor and needy around you (Mark 10:21) so that you can have treasure in heaven and abundant financial replenishment on earth (Luke 6:30, 38). You are required to pay fair wages, salaries and compensation to your workers on timely basis (Prov. 3:27). You should give to liberally your neighbors in need of financial assistance without allowing them to go through undue financial tension before you come to their aid (Pro 3:28). Identify yourself with capital projects in the Church, sponsor evangelism and missionary outreaches, donate generously to the welfare projects in your environment and the Church, and give financial assistance to support the educational and training needs of the indigent. Beware of covetousness, but crave to be a modern-day Dorcas noted for good works (Acts 9:36-42).
- The Principle of Prudence
God is against wastage of resources. In the miracle of feeding the 5,000, Jesus commanded the disciples to gather the fragments that nothing be lost (Jn 6:12). Bad stewards plunder and waste the resources of the Master.
- The Principle of Faithfulness
This principle demands sincerity, full disclosure, and acting in utmost good faith. The steward of the Lord’s finances is required to fully disclose all incomes and correctly state related expenditures without understating income or overstating expenses in order to get undue advantage. Ensure you pay correct taxes to government and tithes to God. Pastors, ministers, husbands, wives, children, employers, and employees must be honest, faithful and always act in utmost good faith in their financial dealings. Many stewards of the Lord’s finances fail the test of faithfulness thereby allowing the devourer to afflict them with chronic poverty, financial torture and hardship. You must avoid the evil wisdom of the dishonest steward mentioned by the Lord in Luke 16:1-13.
- The Principle of Multiplication
The Lord demands that we invest wisely in order to have bountiful harvests (Luke 19:12-17). Invest in evangelism and missionary outreach to win multitudes unto the Lord that would result in significant growth in membership and increase in branches of the Church. Invest in training of workers, pastors and ministers in order to increase the number and improve the quality of workers in the vineyard, for the harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborer is few (Matt.9:37).
Based on the foregoing, who then is that faithful and wise steward? He is the one that:
- Knows the will of his master and is operating within the rules and regulations governing his stewardship
- Is prudent, faithful, honest, and acting with utmost good faith in the management of the finances of the Master.
- Is a channel of blessings unto others, merciful, caring, loving, and contributing generously to the financial needs of the Ministry.
- Pays his dues correctly and timely to the government in taxes and to the Lord in tithes and offerings.
- Invest wisely and brings much returns to the Master in financial terms but most especially, in the number of souls added to the Church.
- Can confidently stand out like Samuel, holding himself out to be openly examined by fellow brethren and the Church authorities (1Sam 12:3-5). He is always ready to render accounts of his stewardship to the Church and ultimately to the Master, Jesus Christ.
Beloved, now is the time to examine how faithful you have been in your stewardship of the Lord’s finances and take urgent steps to make amends where necessary. May the Lord grant you wisdom to do what is right so that you may attract His commendation on the judgment day in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Pastor Tunde Oyewole
