Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
An Elevated View of Stewardship
An Elevated View of Stewardship
Nov 24, 2025 11:40 AM

Tom Gilson, in an article at Thinking Christian, gives some thought to the Christian view of stewardship. Too often, he says, that view is “low”:

…our churches are teaching a low view of stewardship. We’re missing the essential goodness of work in particular, even “non-spiritual” work. “Non-spiritual” work, in case you’re wondering, is any work in which God is not interested, which is just to say there is no such thing.

Gilson notes that he works in “Christian work”, which is often esteemed in the eyes of believers. But, he says,

So does any other honest work. I’m deeply grateful for those who make chairs and carpets, who sell breakfast cereals and coffee, who deliver gasoline to service stations and hamburger patties to restaurants. Without such munity of co-creators, I’d be one cold and hungry blogger right now. There is something essentially good about the business of building a world with and for each other. It can go wrong, obviously, and when it does (unless it’s due to factors beyond anyone’s control), it’s a failure of stewardship: the effective and godly management of all that God has entrusted to us.

What Gilson further states is that the Stewardship Study Bible gets the idea of Christian stewardship right.

But it’s not only about work. It’s about creation care, serving the poor, creating beauty through art, guarding the truths entrusted to us, managing our finances, giving, receiving, and so much more. Stewardship extends into every aspect of life; it is the way we live our lives with the resources we have at hand. That’s why it’s a theme worthy of a study Bible.

I’ve read the books of Isaiah and 1 and 2 Thessalonians in the Stewardship Study Bible so far. To me it hits a sweet spot: its articles on stewardship are consistently relevant to the adjacent text, manding how that text must be interpreted. Dozens, maybe hundreds of authors are quoted in these articles, providing a wide range of of insight, all of it faithful to the intent and meaning of Scripture.

Is your view of stewardship an elevated one, or do you still think that there is work that God is not interested in?

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
Game of Theories: The Keynesians
Note: This is post #113 in a weekly video series on basic economics. “One point of contention among economists is the causes of business cycles and recessions,” says economist Tyler Cowen. “And if you disagree on the causes, chances are that you disagree on the solutions.” In this next section from the Marginal Revolution University video series, we’ll look at some of the major business cycle theories—Keynesian, Monetarist, Real Business Cycle, and Austrian—and what their proponents think we ought to...
7 Figures: National Academies report on child poverty
In a massive new599-page study, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s Board on Children, Youth, and Families produced a report on the costs of child poverty in the United States and the effectiveness of current efforts aimed at reducing poverty. Here are seven figures from the report you should know: 1. In 2015, the latest year for which estimates were available, more than 9.6 million U.S. children (13.0 per cent) lived in families with annual es below a...
How to talk and listen towards a free and virtuous society
Reading Dylan Pahman’s recent piece, Don’t write off young ‘socialists’, got me thinking about talking and listening. We all talk and listen, with varying degrees of success, every day. Most of the time I do each well enough to muddle through learning something from others while imparting some sliver of wisdom in between boisterous declarations of my opinions and preferences. It’s a work in progress but a vitally important one in that, “A wise man will hear, and will increase...
Tyler Cowen finds economic answers in ‘Genesis’
Tyler Cowen, professor of economics at George Mason University and all around internet impresario, has a new column up at Bloomberg on his recent rereading of the Book of Genesis, Living standards rise throughout the book, and by the end we see the marvels of Egyptiancivilization, as experienced and advised by Joseph. The Egyptians have advanced markets in grain, and the logistical and administrative capacities to store grain for up to seven years, helping them to e famine risk (for...
Acton Line: Rev. Robert Sirico on the reality of socialism; Interview with a Venezuelan dissident
On this episode of Acton Line, Acton’s co-founder and president, Rev. Robert Sirico, sits down with Acton’s associate researcher and librarian, Dan Hugger, to discuss the realities of socialism seen specifically in Nicaragua and Venezuela. After that, a redux segment is re-released, featuring 2018 summer intern and student at Grove City College, Noah Gould, who speaks with Javier Avila about inflation, unrest and hope in Venezuela. Check out these additional resources on this week’s podcast topics: Read “The Sandinistas’ faithful...
80% of the globe is ‘religious restricted’: UN hearing
Freedom of religion is denied in much of the world, according to the U.S. ambassador for religious freedom. And a United mittee of NGOs dedicated to religious liberty has called the UN to protect the most fundamental freedom. “Eighty percent of the world’s population lives in a religiously restricted atmosphere,” Sam Brownback told mittee. “Eighty percent of the world is religious. How can we tolerate this continuing situation?” He recounted harrowing tales of persecution that he had personally witnessed, especially...
Socialism’s three-legged stool: Envy, ignorance, and faith
When democratic socialists were asked what they would build in place of Amazon’s HQ2 now that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had chased it out of Queens, the response was “a guillotine.” That reply, contained in an insightful and in-depth portrait of young socialists in New York magazine, perfectly illustrates the difference between the worldview of secular collectivists and those who believe in the free market. One may take from Simon van Zuylen-Wood’s thorough essay that today’s socialism is built on the three-legged...
6 Quotes: P. J. O’Rourke on government and politicians
On Thursday, the Acton Institute will be hosting an Evening in Chicago with P. J. O’Rourke. In honor of the event, here are six quotes on government and politicians by the best-selling author and beloved political satirist: On politicians: “A politician is anyone who asks individuals to surrender part of their liberty—their power and privilege—to State, Masses, Mankind, Planet Earth, or whatever. This state, those masses, that mankind, and the planet will then be run by . . . politicians.”...
Conservative pushback on free market principles can be traced to big government cronyism
Are conservatives abandoning the free-market movement? Has the rise of populism changed the axis of American politics by convincing the political right to embrace neo-mercantilism? These are questions that many are asking, and if you want to understand where the culture is heading, it is best to start here. Exit polls during the presidential election of 2016 showed that Donald Trump’s victory in the Rust Belt pointed to a political realignment in the United States. Suspicious of free-market ideas, politically...
Christian action in God’s world
This week’s Acton Commentary is adapted from a foreword to a new volume by Acton research fellow Anthony B. Bradley, Faith in Society: 13 Profiles of Christians Adding Value to the Modern World. The focus of this book is on Christians who are working out of their faith convictions in the world, not only in the context of secular institutions and environments, but especially in institutions that are animated by Christian values and identity. In this Abraham Kuyper stands as...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved