The parable of the talents in Mathew 25:14-27 reveals Christ's teaching on the principles of Stewardship. Stewardship is an important topic in the Bible. It's importance is highlighted by the fact that Christ talked more about stewardship than any other topic except the Kingdom of God.



A steward is a person who manages and administrates what has been entrusted to him by another. As Christians and as human beings we are stewards as we are to manage what has been entrusted to us by God. In Genesis 1:28, when God first created man he gave him instructions that he should "have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." The New Testament is replete with verses reminding us that we are stewards of God's resources.

So what are the things that we should be stewards of ? We are to be stewards of our time, money, our abilities and our life. In the parable of the talents, the principles of stewardship that we can learn from Christ is as follows:

1.) PRINCIPLE OF OWNERSHIP - The goods entrusted and committed to the servants belonged to the Master (verse 14)

In the same way we should realize that all that we have is not ours it is the Lord's and that we are only entrusted with it. Having this mindset is one of the most important principles of stewardship because only then if we think this way that we will be more responsible as stewards.

2.) PRINCIPLE OF ABILITY & DISCRETION - The amount of goods entrusted to each servant was determined solely by his ability and the discretion of the master (verse 15)

God has blessed us with different abilities, gifts, economic status in life and other blessings. We are what we are right now because of God's design and purpose. The blessings that God gives us depends on His discretion and our ability. We cannot question God if He gives others more wealth or more abilities than us. How much he gives each of us also depends on His discretion. Our main task is not to question Him, but to develop or make the best of the abilites that He has given us.

3.) PRINCIPLE OF FREEDOM - Each servant was given full freedom on what to do with the goods turned over to him (verses 16-18)

God did not make us robots. We were given freedom of choice by Him. As human beings God gave us a certain level of freedom as to how we are to fulfill His purpose for us. So, in order to make the best out of our lives, our actions must governed by His instructions and that we must only act within the boundaries of his plan and instructions.

This is the first part of a two part series. Should you wish to view the article in its entirety, visit my blog.