Christianity is a call to stewardship.  As Christians, we are all stewards of God.  A steward watches over and cares for the property and/or household of another.  The fact that God has placed us in this role shows the trust and confidence He has in us.  The question is what kind of stewards are we?  Our first responsibility as God’s stewards is to be faithful.

1 Corinthians 4:1-2 (ESV)
¹  This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. ²  Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

An unfaithful steward is useless because, not only is he of no use to his master, but he is actually squandering his master’s substance.  So, what does it mean to be a faithful steward?  It means to carry out the job that your master has assigned you to do.  However, in the realm of Christianity, it involves something that precedes doing your job.  In Christ, a faithful steward is first and foremost faithful to the precepts and principles of the gospel.  In other words, a faithful steward of God is first faithful to God Himself, by living according to the gospel, and then he is faithful in the exercise of his duty.  Listen to Paul.

Philippians 1:27-28 (ESV)
²⁷  Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, ²⁸  and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.

Our first order of business as stewards of God, then, is to live a life that is worthy of the gospel.  Our manner of living must be in harmony with the Word of God if we are to be viewed as faithful, and only then can we carry out the duties that God has given us.

The Greek word in Philippians 1:27 that is translated “let your manner of life be” literally meant, “to behave as a citizen.”  This particular verb that Paul used would have resonated with the Philippians because Philippi was a Roman colony.  A Roman colony was a miniature Rome made up of a large number of retired Roman soldiers who were fanatical about Roman principles.  Most of the people at Philippi, then, were Roman citizens who spoke the language of Rome, lived by Roman customs, and dressed in Roman attire.  Roman colonists rejected the world around them and refused to allow any infiltration of local influence into the colony.  While they were away from home, they remained loyal to Rome.

As faithful stewards of God, we should view ourselves as heavenly colonists.  We, too, are away from home right now, but we must remain loyal to heaven.  Like the Roman colonists, we must reject the world around us and not allow any infiltration of its ungodly manners into our lives.

As citizens of heaven, we must speak the language of heaven, that is, we should not allow any corrupt communication to proceed out of our mouths (Ephesians 4:29).  We should wear the attire of heaven, that is, we must dress modestly, rejecting the ungodly garb of this world (1 Timothy 2:9-10).  We must live by the principles of heaven, that is, we must order our lives according to the moral and spiritual principles of the gospel of Christ (Romans 12:2).  This is what it means to be a faithful steward.  Only when we live as citizens of heaven can we be trusted to carry out the business of God.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.