Stewardship
In Matthew, the Lord provided us with the parable of the talents.[1] In this parable, a man called his servants together and gave into their keeping and responsibility his goods. The extent to which each servant received was based on personal ability; one received five talents of goods, one received two talents, and one received one talent. No servant was left without a responsibility for at least a small part of his lord’s investible materials. Then, the man left to travel into a far country. The servants were left to determine for themselves how to best advance their lord’s interests in relation to their responsibility. Though not mentioned in the parable, each would have understood that the master would return, and that they would have to make an accounting for their investment choices at that time.
Typically, we might talk about this parable from the point of view of using our own talents in serving God. Today, I wish to highlight the original meaning of the word, which suggests a sum of money, or goods of equal value or weight to that sum of money.[2] We, meaning the souls of all members of the human family, are those goods. Thus Paul taught us, "… ye are bought with a price."[3] That price was the redemption of each and every one of us from death,[4] and also from sin on conditions of repentance.[5] It was a terrible price to pay, a "suffering which caused … even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain and to bleed at every pore and to suffer both body and spirit."[6] When the Lord tells us that the worth of souls is great in His sight,[7] it is important to remember the suffering he went through, for that is the value he has placed on each and every soul. He was willing to pay all that he had to redeem us,[8] which means to buy us back.[9] We are his pearls of great price.
Although we are the valuable goods of the Lord, we are also his servants. It is to us that he has given a charge or responsibility. He asks us to be accountable for how those goods are used during this probationary, or testing, period.[10] When the final reckoning comes, we will have to make an accounting for how we have responded to that great responsibility. Thus, we are stewards to the Lord, and this life is the time of our stewardship.
What do we mean by stewardship? In its oldest sense, stewardship suggests a state of guarding or watching over either a home, temple, or animal pen (such as a shepherd might).[11] We also recognise a steward as one who manages the property, finances, or other affairs of another. Such management of property is for the benefit of the other, and not the steward. For example, when I left to go on my mission to Japan, I made my parents the legal stewards over my bank account. In doing so, they took on a legal responsibility to use their access to my account for my best interests, and not their own. If they had abused their capacity to act in my name, the law stipulated a penalty that would have applied.
So, stewardship has three key principles: first, it is the legal right to take on the name of another, and act in his place; second, it is the responsibility to look after another's interests; and third, it includes accountability for actions taken during the stewardship, and for which a penalty must be paid for any breach. As stewards, we show our willingness to take upon us the name of Christ and act in his place, or in other words always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given us,[12] when we are baptised.[13] We must then press forward with a steadfastness in Christ,[14] and focus on the work He wants us to do.[15] He tells us, "This is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."[16] He also tells us, "No man can serve two masters."[17] With that in mind, "…choose you this day whom ye will serve,"[18] but remember that "…every man receiveth wages of him whom he listeth to obey."[19]
Knowing that the Lord's work and glory is the immortality and eternal life of man, and "…having a determination to serve him to the end…"[20] in that work, we can echo the words of Mormon in saying, "Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life."[21] Discipleship is stewardship. The disciple works like the master, just as the steward works on behalf of the master. For this reason, whatever the master asks is what the steward must do. At Sinai, Israel covenanted to hearken to the Lord and keep his commandments.[22] We keep the same covenant by things such as having weekly family home evening, frequent prayer, daily scripture study, going home or visiting teaching, accepting callings from our leaders, and fulfilling our responsibilities. We will account to the Lord for these things, for they are part of our stewardship.
I haven't yet spoken much about who we are to be stewards over. What are the goods he has entrusted to you? Perhaps you think of yourself as a servant who is given responsibility over only one talent. God has given each of us that we should be agents unto ourselves,[23] and has asked that we work out our own salvation in fear and trembling.[24] Our first great stewardship is to do God's will, and not our own will,[25] and so look after our own soul.[26] This requires that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.[27] To so love God requires that we keep his commandments.[28] This, in turn, means that we must love our neighbour as ourselves.[29] Following the war which destroyed the Nephite nation, Moroni kept himself hidden from the Lamanites for many long years; if he had been found, they would have killed him.[30] During this period of what must have been great hardship and loneliness, Moroni still understood that his stewardship was for more than just himself. He made the time to provide some of the record of the prophet Ether, which task was difficult[31] and awkward[32] even at the best of times. Then, after years on the run, he wrote, "I had supposed not to have written more, but I have not as yet perished… Wherefore, I write a few more things … that perhaps they may be of worth unto my brethren, the Lamanites, in some future day…"[33] Moroni understood that to serve God was to serve others,[34] including his enemies.[35] There was more than one talent to worry about. We are the same. There are many talents, many souls, for us to watch over, protect, and rescue.
Elder Quentin L Cook chose to speak of two great stewardships that we all have: the first, ourselves and our families; the second, the poor and the needy.[36] With regards to ourselves and our families, David O McKay has stated, "No other success can compensate for failure in the home."[37] Where those patterned after the business model of Satan say, with Cain, "Am I my brother's keeper?",[38] we who wish to be about our "father's business"[39] must do the work of the Saviour, even the work of salvation.[40] Our homes and families are to be houses of prayer, fasting, faith, learning, glory and order.[41] They are to be as the House of the Lord, and, like the temple, should be organised around the principle, "Holiness to the Lord,"[42] or in other words, consecrated to the Lord.[43] Stewardship requires that our homes and our hearts be the places of our greatest and most diligent work.
King Benjamin's great speech, delivered to the people as they gathered at the temple, reminds us of the seriousness of that other stewardship we all have: caring for the poor and the needy.
And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.[44]
Similarly, James reminds us, "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction..."[45] Our stewardship for others includes a genuine need to give of that which we have to comfort those in need of comfort. In doing so, King Benjamin is clear that we are not to judge whether an individual has brought such circumstances on himself; we cannot withhold simply because the individual does not meet our standards, otherwise we would be condemned and cut off from God for not meeting his standards—even perfection.[46] The poet wrote:
People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.[47]
It is also important to remember that no commandment is temporal only;[48] if Christ is the bridegroom,[49] there are those who are widows because His light has been extinguished in their lives.[50] If Christ is our father through baptism, spiritually begetting us,[51] then there are many who are now fatherless. There is no such thing as a purely temporal stewardship in the Lord's plan. In other words, give food to the hungry,[52] but also provide nourishment by the good word of God[53] to those who hunger and thirst after righteousness;[54] nurse those who are ill back to health,[55] but also minister to those who suffer from sin, so that they may come to Christ,[56] so that He can heal them;[57] visit those who are lonely,[58] but also invite the fulfilment of the Lord's promise that he would not leave us comfortless;[59] clothe the naked,[60] but also offer the garments of praise, compassion and love to emotionally clothe the downhearted, downtrodden, and depressed.[61]
Thus the Lord spake:
"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me… Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."[62]
Our stewardships are so important that it should come as no surprise that our common enemy, Satan the accuser, is ever trying to distract, dissuade, or discourage us. The key to his distraction technique is to have us focus on things that, in the end, are of no worth whatsoever. We read in the book of Job how, on a certain day, the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came among them.[63] "And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou?", or, in other words, what are you doing here? Satan responds, "From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it."[64] Satan's wanderings are pointless and fruitless; it is the wretched pacing of a man in his cell. His message of distraction is for us to walk with him, but of course that leads nowhere, or at least no place worth writing home about. Of course, it is home that we are trying to journey to; much better to return than to write. Satan whispers that all is well in Zion,[65] that there is nothing to be done for our stewardship because it is a time of peace,[66] and then lures us onto other things to focus on: gold, silver, silks, scarlets, fine-twined linen, precious clothing, and harlots.[67] All the finery of the world and its entertainments; the promise that you can buy anything in this world with money; these are what we call the trappings of the world. These are the things that "…moth and rust doth corrupt, and thieves break through and steal."[68] These are the things of which the Lord said, "Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy."[69] There is only one path to follow, and it is strait and narrow, and it leads to God and home.[70] Thus Jacob's words help us with our stewardship and against Satan's distractions: "Before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God."[71]
Just as dangerous as distraction are dissuasion and discouragement. Sometimes, we feel keenly the straitness or strictness of the path of stewardship. We may feel unqualified to fulfil some part of what the Lord wants us to do. Perhaps we are shy; how can the Lord expect us to open our mouths to preach the gospel? We may be embarrassed by emotional situations; how can the Lord expect us to testify to our family and friends? We may find listening to speakers boring or even painful; how can the Lord expect us to not only attend but learn from and enjoy conference? We may find reading difficult; how can the Lord expect us to read from the scriptures daily? We may believe our voices to be small, our arms to be weak, our legs to be weary, our hearts too full with our own sorrows and concerns. We may believe that the cross that we have been called to bear is too heavy. Satan would have us focus on these inadequacies and shrink. There is a story of a man who, finding his troubles, his cross, too heavy to bear, kneels and prays to the Lord. The Lord has him take his cross and place it in a room, then enter another room and pick out a different cross. Seeing crosses of varying shapes and sizes, many of them so massive that he could not see the end of them, the man settled on a small cross leaning against the far wall. And the Lord replied, "My son, that is the cross you just brought in."[72] Our cross, which is also our stewardship, is especially crafted for us. It is intended for our good. When we find that we echo Satan's accusations that we can't, we must remember that "…the Lord giveth no commandment unto the children of men save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."[73] The counsel of the Prophet will benefit us when we feel that what must be done is greater than us: "Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."[74] Like Nephi, let us go and do,[75] rather than stay and shrink.[76]
Going back to the original parable, I wish to bring up another business principle. The period of time between when the master left and the master returned was a period that the master expected an investment return on his goods. Money has a time value; in other words, one dollar is worth more today than in a year, even without such things as inflation. That is because if you receive a dollar today, you can, as the master of the parable noted, lend the money out and receive interest on it for the period. Being that we have discussed how physical money will pass away, the return or growth that the Lord is looking for must be something different. "That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day."[77] So, while we are away from the Lord and our home, we must, in the words of Paul, redeem the time,[78] or, in other words, grow in value. Stewardship is to learn to become a Son of God, for we must learn to become Sons before we can become Fathers.
In closing, please indulge me while I briefly recap. Stewardship is to watch over or guard those things which the Lord has asked us to be responsible for. We do it in his name, in his way, and for his work and his glory. We understand that we will account for our stewardship and what we have done. Satan will try to stop us from being wise stewards; we must avoid his distractions, and ignore his dissuasions. The Lord expects an investment return, which is the spiritual growth that leads to us learning to become as he is, by doing the things he has done. Our greatest stewardship is for ourselves and our families, but we cannot neglect the poor and the needy, whether temporally or spiritually so, whether deservedly so or not. Finally, as from the parable, when the master returns, when we account to the Lord, if we have learned to be wise over a few things, then he will give into our keeping many things,[79] even all that he has, which is all that our Father in Heaven has.[80] Note that we are judged not by how much we return, but by the return on each of our talents or responsibilities: thus, the servant who had five and grew five was rewarded the same as the servant who had two talents and returned two more. Stewardship is apprenticeship. The invitation to us is to make Christ our foundation,[81] and then build both diligently and wisely[82] until the perfect day.
(Testimony, close in the name of Jesus Christ)
[1] Matt 25:14-30.
[3] 1 Cor 6:20.
[4] 1 Cor 15:22.
[5] D&C 19:16-20.
[6] D&C 19:18.
[7] D&C 18:10.
[8] D&C 122:8.
[9] See, for example, Mormon 9:13.
[10] Abr 3:25-26.
[12] Moroni 4:3.
[13] Mosiah 18:10.
[14] 2 Ne 31:20.
[15] D&C 4:5.
[16] Moses 1:39.
[17] Matt 6:24.
[18] Josh 24:15.
[19] Alma 3:27.
[20] Moroni 6:3.
[21] 3 Ne 5:13.
[22] Ex 19:8.
[23] D&C 58:28.
[24] Philip 2:12.
[25] Luke 22:42.
[26] Mormon 9:27.
[27] Mark 12:30.
[28] John 14:15.
[29] Matt 22:39-40.
[30] Moroni 1:1-3.
[31] Jacob 4:1.
[32] Ether 12:24.
[33] Moroni 1:1, 4.
[34] Mosiah 2:17.
[35] 3 Ne 12:43-44.
[36] Elder Quentin L Cook, "Stewardship—a Sacred Trust", Ensign, Nov 2009, pp91-94.
[37] Quoted from J. E. McCullough, Home: The Savior of Civilization [1924], 42; Conference Report, Apr. 1935, 116.
[38] Moses 5:34.
[39] Luke 2:49.
[40] Abr 2:11.
[41] D&C 88:119.
[42] Ex 28:36.
[43] Ex 28:36, footnote b.
[44] Mosiah 4:16.
[45] James 1:27.
[46] Mosiah 4:17-23.
[47] Dr Kent M Keith, The Paradoxical Commandments, viewed 17/9/11,
<http://www.paradoxicalcommandments.com/>
[48] D&C 29:35.
[49] D&C 133:10.
[50] D&C 93:9.
[51] Mosiah 5:7.
[52] Matt 25:35.
[53] Moroni 6:4.
[54] 3 Nephi 12:6.
[55] Matt 25:36.
[56] Omni 1:26.
[57] 3 Ne 9:13.
[58] Mosiah 4:26; see also Gen 2:18.
[59] John 14:18.
[60] Mosiah 4:26.
[61] Mosiah 18:8-9.
[62] Matt 25:34-40.
[63] Job 1:6.
[64] Job 1:7.
[65] 2 Ne 28:21.
[66] D&C 101:48, 51.
[67] 1 Ne 13:8.
[68] 3 Ne 13:19.
[69] 2 Ne 9:51.
[70] 2 Ne 31:17-21.
[71] Jacob 2:18.
[72] Tim Woodward, A Room Full of Crosses, source unknown.
[73] 1 Ne 3:7.
[74] D&C 123:17.
[75] 1 Ne 3:7.
[76] Mosiah 3:25.
[77] D&C 50:24
[78] Eph 5:16
[79] Matt 25:21.
[80] Romans 8:17.
[81] Hel 5:12.
[82] 3 Ne 14:24-25.
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