A Steward or a Prodigal?

What is a Steward?  Often times we put the adjectives "good" or "bad" in front of the word steward.  There's nothing terribly wrong with that.  Jesus shares a story about an "unrighteous" steward in Luke 16.  However, to be a steward of something implies that you are good at it.  It's kind of oxymoronic to say "bad steward."

Jesus also tells the story of the "prodigal" son.  Many of us mistake that word to mean "the son that ran away and came back home."  However, prodigal refers to the fact that the son squandered his inheritance away.  Remember the story?  His father gave him his inheritance and then he ran off and spent it and came back with nothing to show for it.  The wonderful part of the story is that the father forgave him and took him back in and threw a party for his homecoming.  That's a great story for us because many of us have squandered what God has given us yet He still loves us when we return to Him and run away from those practices.  However, we often forget to draw attention to the 'prodigal's' shortcomings.  He was a "bad" steward.  We can learn from his example.  Yes it's wonderful that God loves us enough to forgive us for our shortcomings, but we can avoid them in the first place with the a little help from the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 4:1-2  says, "Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.  In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy."  Have you ever thought about the fact that you are a steward of the "mysteries of God?"  He has given each of us a deposit, the Holy Spirit.  Our bodies are "temples of the Holy Spirit" (1 cor 16:19).  Through His Spirit He has revealed to us the "mysteries of God" found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  When God looks at your life would He say here is one of my "stewards?"  Or would He say, "here is one of my prodigal sons or daughters, I sure hope he/she comes home so I can remind him/her how to be a steward!"