What Type of Steward of God’s Word Are You?

It’s Monday morning and I’m slowly recovering from Sunday. I take a brief look at the text for the upcoming Sunday. What I say to myself in that moment will determine what type of steward I am of God’s Word. There are two types of stewards in the Bible. When we consider handling the Bible, only one of these types of stewards is faithful to the master.

Consider Matthew 25:14-30 and what it says about stewardship. The manager here gives out different talents to individuals. His task for them is to improve upon what he had given. If he gives you ten talents then he is expecting more than ten talents when he returns. This is why the dude who kept the talent safe—by burying it in the backyard—was considered a worthless servant. He didn’t improve upon what the manager had given to him.

Now consider 2 Timothy 1:13-14. This is the direct charge to Timothy to guard the good deposit. He has been entrusted with something precious. But in this case he isn’t to improve upon it. When the master comes back he isn’t expecting to see his investment has been reshaped and improved. What he wants to see is that it is unchanged—it has been protected. Dismissing for a second some horrible implications which could come from this, in this particular instance burying the treasure in the backyard would be being a faithful steward.

I’m convinced that many of us pastors have bought into the idea that our job on Sunday morning—and throughout the day to day administering of the Word to our people—is to be like that first steward. We’ve been given talents and God has given us brains to improve upon what he has given to us. When you have this view you’ll sit down with a passage of Scripture on Monday morning and think to yourself, “Now, how can I make this passage palatable for my hearers. What can I do with this passage? How can I improve upon these six or seven verses and create something beautiful for our congregation?”

But that isn’t the type of stewardship we are called to. We aren’t called to improve upon the word but to faithfully deliver it. We are stewards of a message. Proclaimers of truth. Ambassadors of the king. Our faithfulness isn’t depending upon whether or not we improve upon the message but whether or not we deliver the message as the King wants it delivered.

This changes my questions in sermon preparation. I’m not wondering how I can salvage or make beautiful the chunk of verses I’m given that week. Instead I’m asking myself, “what is the king saying and how do I put together words in our language to convey that message accurately?” I’m not called to spice it up. I’m not called to edit or tweak the message. I’m just called to stand before a people and say, “Here is what God is saying to us.”

A king who knows his subjects far better than I ever could has said, “Here is what I want you to tell them.” What chutzpah must we have to say, “But, I know how to communicate your message better. I know what they’ll like. I know what they’ll accept. I’ll give them the gist of your message—but I know what they’ll go for and what they’ll reject. So, I’ll take out my pen and do a bit of editing and give them a palatable message they can not only understand but also enjoy. O, glorious king, I’ve improved upon your writ!”

That isn’t a faithful steward. That’s an arrogant man who thinks his words are just as important and beneficial as the kings. He isn’t looking for you to improve upon His Word, but to faithfully proclaim it no matter the result. We aren’t driven by their response to the Word we are driven by the King’s commission to go and proclaim. We preachers need to put down our editing pens and start picking up our bullhorns and proclaiming the King’s message.

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