Nevertheless, the Bible does point to us as God's steward of material resources. The original intent appears to be for man to extend Eden's order into Eden's outer regions.Īs we seek to understand what stewardship is, it would be wise for us not to forget these definitions, less our view of stewardship becomes materially focused only. This new Creation needed people to fill it and to subdue its potentially wild state. God's command to be fruitful and multiply is an extension of this stewardship order. This naming was an act of providing order, as was his role to care and preside over Eden and its inhabitants. Paul's "one another" passages, instructions to Timothy, and his letters, while primarily pointing to Christ, also instruct us how we are to shepherd and steward those who are "in Christ." Stewarding Orderįrom the very beginning of Creation, God instructed humans to have dominion (charge of) over Creation.
The Bible and especially the New Testament are replete with examples of how we should treat one another. Let's examine these two concepts briefly before we get to the definition that we typically think applies. An essential aspect of biblical stewardship is looking after people and providing order over Creation. While the third definition is most in line with the term as the Bible uses it, we shouldn't ignore the first two. Defining Stewardship:Īccording to Webster's Dictionary, there are three definitions given to the English word steward:Ī person who looks after the passengers on a ship, aircraft, or train and brings them meals.Īn official appointed to supervise arrangements or keep order at a large public event, for example, a sporting event.Ī person employed to manage another's property, especially a large house or estate. A steward's role is central to who he is and what he's been called to accomplish in life and ministry.
Many organizations are committed to this, or to promoting this.Biblical stewardship is a phrase we don't use too often in our daily vernacular, yet Jesus talks about being a steward over and over, as do the authors of the Bible. Organization X is committed to environmental stewardship.Īccording to Wikipedia, " environmental stewardship refers to responsible use and protection of the natural environment through conservation and sustainable practices". But isn't it commonplace to see sentences such as the following?
I don't find any support for this usage in dictionary definitions of steward (the ones I've checked) either, but I believe it's idiomatic it's not an uncommon usage.ĪSIDE: The dictionary definitions of steward (the ones I've checked) all refer to stewards as persons they omit organizations. Of the motion of mercury over the course of eight consecutive years. "He stewarded the Mercury Project, which required precise measurements The experiment in question does not differ in kind from any other scientific experiment or project, and yet few would think of calling every scientist a "steward of science" (although in some sense every scientist is). It does constitute dedication and commitment to the scientific method, but these are expected of all scientists. Carrying out an experiment or project, even one that requires a long period of time, does not constitute stewardship of the entire scientific enterprise. Speaking as a scientist, I would not use steward in that sense. words that mean "One who upholds core values")? It seems like the definition I am thinking of can be thought of as a mild contortion/stretching of the standard definition.Ĭan "steward" take on such a meaning that I have outlined in my example sentence, or am I gravely mistaken? Regardless of whether or not it is, could you give me words which match my hypothesized definition (i.e. (3) a person whose job is to manage the land and property of another person (2) someone who protects or is responsible for money, property, etc. (1) a person and especially a man whose job is to serve meals and take care of passengers on a train, airplane, or ship However, the word as per the Merriam-Webster dictionary is, In the sentence above, it's clear that steward is taken to mean, roughly, "One who upholds core values". "His precise measurements of the motion of mercury, made over the course of eight consecutive years, made him a steward of science." I could have sworn that I have heard/read the word "steward" in a context similar to the following:
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