This is Part 4 in a series. Part1, Part 2, and Part 3 can be found in the corresponding links.

Competent stewardship looks like excellence

We needn’t guess what competent stewardship looks like because Jesus tells us in the parable. Both the servants doubled their master’s money. They both obtained an excellent result with what was entrusted to them, even though the first servant recovered more money for their master than the second servant.

The third servant was an example of what incompetent stewardship looked like. There was no increase at all. The picture of the servant burying the $1 million is the very image of doing nothing. If he had done something to develop what he had been given, that would have been better than doing nothing. 

The bottom line: competent stewardship requires developed ability, and developed ability looks a lot like excellence.

The example of a winemaker

If there is any doubt we need look no further than the One telling this story. Jesus had a stewardship as well, a calling (John 4:34). He completed His work in a manner that glorified the Father (John 17:4). As His disciples, we are called to be conformed to His image (Romans 8:29).

How Jesus discharged the stewardship given Him becomes then a model for us. 

One of the first examples from Jesus’ life is the wedding at Cana. The wedding party runs out of wine, which may not seem like a big deal, but culturally this would have been a major social embarrassment and failure of hospitality. 

This was a big problem, and Mary turned to Jesus to solve it — “They have run out of wine.” Responsibility flows to competence. 

We all know what happens next. Jesus turns water into wine. Now, if John had stopped there, that would have been quite a story, one worth telling for millennia. But John continued.

John says they took the wine to the headwaiter and he tasted but didn’t know where it had come from. The headwaiter told the bridegroom that most people serve the good wine first, and then (after everyone’s senses are dulled) serve the poorer wine later. But here, he had obviously saved the best wine for last.

In reality, the bridegroom had likely served the good wine first like everyone else, but the wine Jesus made was so much better, it made the good wine seem bad by comparison and he thought they had saved the best for last. The point is that when Jesus accepted the responsibility of being a winemaker, He made excellent wine.

Moreover, if Jesus had only made a bottle of wine from water, that would have been significant enough to record. Instead, Jesus made around 150 gallons of excellent wine. Jesus’ stewardship produced both quality and quantity.

The example of a teacher

When Jesus assumed the responsibility as a teacher to carry out His ministry, the result was similar. Those who heard Jesus said, “Never has a man taught like this man.” (John 7:45-46).  He taught with authority. He taught deep lessons from entertaining stories. And He taught innovatively.

John tells of an occasion where the crowd was pressing in around Jesus when He was teaching by the Sea of Galilee. When people press in around a speaker, it becomes harder for everyone to hear. As a result, people move in closer, compounding the problem.

As a professional speaker, Jesus knew if your message is not being heard, you are not doing your job very well. So, Jesus does something innovative. It is a brilliant solution to a common problem faced by speakers of that day. (Luke 5:1-3).

By getting into the boat, Jesus prevented the crowd from pressing in closer to Him, and by pushing away from the shore, He created a situation where His voice could carry more clearly over the water than it would over land. Jesus was not just an innately gifted teacher; He developed His craft of public speaking.

In short, competent stewardship in our work requires developed ability, and developed ability looks a lot like excellence. GS