Christian Financial Stewardship: Uncommon Examples

Common examples of financial stewardship you’ll find are related to spending, giving, saving, etc.  For example, spending may involve having a budget to help make sure you don’t over spend in certain areas and definitely not spend more than your total income each month.  Giving is often discussed in the context of tithing or giving towards the work of God’s kingdom each month.  Finally, saving is obviously a wise money management step in preparing for future expenses such as unplanned emergencies.

Uncommon examples of Christian financial stewardship

There are other examples of financial stewardship, in my opinion, that aren’t quite as common or often discussed.  These areas can be just as important and when looked at closely, are still related to managing God’s resources wisely.  I can think of a few examples probably encountered by most of us each week.  But unfortunately, they sometimes get buried in everyday life and don’t stand out as much as the direct management of money.  The are opportunities, to grow and shine as Christian financial stewards.

Using your neighbor’s resources

When we borrow something from our neighbor or friends, we should take care of it as if it were our own.  I’m sure everyone reading this post has had an example when they loaned something, but it came back broken or in bad condition. Or, perhaps it never was returned.   Taking care of our neighbor’s resources sets an example of financial stewardship others can learn to live by.

Using company resources

If you work for a company you’ve been entrusted to care for company resources as you use them each day to perform your work.  Furthermore, your company expects you to manage those resources diligently so as not to be wasteful.  Common examples that come to mind include office supplies, computers you may have been given to perform your job and cell phones.  I’ve always been told to manage company resources like they were my own.  Most companies desire this type of stewardship from their employees and fulfilling that responsibility is pleasing to God.

Taking care of our possessions

Again, we often think of stewardship in the areas of spending, saving and giving.  However, once we’ve spent money and have a new possession, we now have the responsibility to manage it wisely.  Often we see children with new toys and not take care of them.  This is always a teaching opportunity for parents, but we can learn from it too.

Taking care of our cars is one of the best examples I can think of and one that can be easily neglected.  Keeping the inside of your car clean, making sure it has the oil changed on schedule and keeping it washed are all good examples of managing this resource wisely.  Taking good care of your car may also help prolong it’s use.

Another great example is taking care of your home.  Just this past weekend I worked in the yard on a great spring weekend.  As I was mowing, pulling and spraying weeds cleaning windows I couldn’t help but give praise to God for the honor to care for our home and yard.  The home we have is an entrusted resource.

As an aside, cars and homes are the most expensive part of the budget.  We need to make sure we take care of them and prolong their use as much as possible.

Performing work

Earning is another important area of financial stewardship.  But it’s so easy for us to take jobs for granted.  Think back about how you felt when you accepted your first job.  Chances are you were excited about the position and planned to give everything you could to work hard and do well.  But it’s common to take your job for granted over time.  Perhaps you show up late, or don’t give 100% when at work.  If you work for someone else, or even perhaps yourself, it’s important to remember a job and the ability to earn is a blessing.  We should manage our jobs wisely so that we can be blessed further through them as well as set examples for others.

Related to giving, helping others can be an example of stewardship of using our talents wisely.  We’re all blessed with certain skills and abilities.  If you have something to offer in the area of personal finance, why not take your lessons learned and apply them to helping others?  You don’t have to become a financial adviser or counselor.  You could volunteer at your church to mentor a young couple just getting married.  There are a lot of ways to help if you remain open and listen to others needs.