Make me a wise and faithful steward.

Make me a wise and faithful steward.

 

 

 

“Peter asked, ‘Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?’  The Lord replied, ‘Who then is the wise and faithful steward, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time?  Blessed is that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns.  Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions’” (Luke 12:41–44).

 

 

(1)   As I read today’s passage, Luke 12:41–44, I chose as the title of my meditation, “Make me a wise and faithful steward,” just as the Lord said, “be a wise and faithful steward.”  The reason is that I want this to be the word the Lord gives me today and also my prayer topic.  I would like to divide this word and prayer into three parts, meditate on them, reflect on myself, and apply them:

 

(a)    First, I want to meditate on what Jesus meant by “wise.”

 

(i)      When I meditate on “wisdom,” I first think of my Korean name, “Jee Woun.”  The meaning of “Jee Woun” is “to excel in wisdom” (“Jee” meaning wisdom, and “Woun” meaning first or foremost).  As far as I know, when my father gave me this name at my birth, the verse he had in mind was Daniel 12:3: “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.”

        

·        When I think of this verse and my name, I hope that by God’s help I may live according to my name and meet the Lord.  Especially in this evil last generation, where countless foolish people live saying in their hearts, “There is no God,” I desire that God would give us the wisdom He gave to Solomon so that we may live wisely.

 

-        I want to live wisely—wise as a serpent (Mt. 10:16).  With careful discernment, rightly judging all matters, I want to respond cautiously to the tribulations that will come upon us, either avoiding them or overcoming them.  In particular, as time goes on, there will be more false pastors who outwardly wear sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves (7:15; 10:16).  I pray that, being wise as serpents, we may clearly discern and reject false gospels, and hear and proclaim only the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

·        However, I cannot deny that my own foolishness continues to be exposed. I would like to share a few writings I have made about my foolishness:

 

-       “My foolishness is … (1)”: My foolishness is not only being ignorant of, but also ignoring, the bitter consequences that my wrong choices today will bring upon me later (Prov. 5:3–5).

 

-      “My foolishness is … (2)”: My foolishness is failing to realize that my path is not secure (Prov. 5:6).

 

-      “My foolishness is … (3)”: My foolishness is, while fighting sexual temptation, knowing my own weaknesses yet not keeping distance from the opposite sex, but instead drawing near (Prov. 5:8).

 

-      “My foolishness is … (4)”: My foolishness is regretting why I am now experiencing such bitter consequences—because at that time I hated correction and rebuke in my heart and would not listen or pay attention (Prov. 5:11–14).

 

-      “My foolishness”: How far does my foolishness go…?

 

-      “My foolishness is …”: My foolishness is that even through the repeated outcomes of my prayers—results that do not turn out as I prayed and expected—I still fail to realize how much I have been praying wrongly, according to my stubbornness, my desires, and relying on my own understanding and knowledge.

-      “This is the height of my foolishness”: Even when the Lord stretches out His nail-pierced hands on the cross and calls me, “Come,” I ignore His voice and do not even look at His outstretched hands—this is the height of my foolishness (cf. Prov. 1:24–25).

 

·        Therefore, I came to love James 1:5 (indeed, I could not help but love it): “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

 

-       Because I lacked wisdom, I began to ask God for it and started meditating on the wisdom books of the Bible.  Every Wednesday worship service, as I meditated on and preached through the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, I experienced the grace of becoming more and more aware of my own foolishness.

 

n  Thus, I came to ask God for wisdom even more, and within me grew an increasing thirst to learn the teachings of wisdom.  From this thirst, what I need even more is a listening ear.  If I have a listening ear along with a willing heart to learn, then by humbly hearing the counsel and instruction that God gives me (Prov. 19:20), I will be able to become a wiser Christian.

 

(ii)     Looking again at today’s passage, Luke 12:41–42, Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples, asks Him, “Lord, are You telling this parable to us, or to everyone?” (v. 41).

 

·       Here, “this parable” refers to the one Jesus had just spoken (vv. 35–40), urging readiness for the coming of the Son of Man, who will come like a thief.  Peter was wondering whether this solemn warning was a special instruction only for the disciples, or a universal teaching applicable to all people.

 

-      However, Jesus did not answer Peter’s question with a direct “yes” or “no.”  Instead, He responded with the parable of the “wise and faithful steward” (v. 42 and following).  This suggests that while the responsibility to remain watchful applies to all believers, greater faithfulness is especially required of leaders (the disciples) who have been entrusted with greater authority and responsibility.

·        As I reflected on this, I found myself comparing Jesus’ command to His disciples—who bear greater responsibility to remain watchful—to become “wise” stewards, with Luke 12:16–21, which we previously meditated on under the title, “The real sin of the foolish rich man is that he was not rich toward God.”

 

The ‘foolish rich man’ (12:16–21) and the ‘wise steward’ (12:42–48) in Luke 12 form a sharp contrast in their attitudes toward possessions and calling, teaching us what true wisdom really is (Internet):

 

1.   Difference in perspective: “I” vs. “the Master”

 

The foolish rich man: The subject of every sentence is “I.” He says, “I will… my barns… all my grain and my goods… I will say to my soul…,” mistakenly thinking that ownership belongs to himself.

 

The wise steward: He clearly understands that his position is that of a “steward (manager).” He acknowledges that ownership of all resources belongs to the “Master” and acts according to the Master’s will.

 

2.    Difference in time: “the present age” vs. “eternity”

 

The foolish rich man: He plans only for comfort in this life, saying, “I have plenty of goods laid up for many years.”  But God warns him of the suddenness of the end, saying, “This very night your soul will be demanded of you.”

 

The wise steward: He prepares for the master’s coming at “an unexpected day and an unknown hour” (v. 46).  He uses the present as an opportunity to prepare for the final accounting in the eternal kingdom.

 

3.   Use of resources: “accumulation” vs. “distribution”

 

The foolish rich man: Seeing a plentiful harvest, he decides, “I will build bigger barns and store it all.”  In other words, he isolates resources for himself.

The wise steward: With the authority entrusted to him by the master, he “gives food to the household at the proper time.” In other words, he allows resources to flow to others.

 

4.   Final evaluation: “foolishness” vs. “wisdom”

 

Jesus defines the one who stores up treasures for himself but is not rich toward God as “foolish.”  On the other hand, He calls the one who understands the master’s heart, cares for those entrusted to him, and remains watchful “wise and blessed.”

 

In summary, the foolish rich man believed that “storing up” was wisdom, yet in the end he lost everything. The wise steward, however, understands that “giving out” is faithfulness to the master and thus comes to share in the master’s joy (Internet).

 

-        In this way, the wise steward who lives a life of sharing drives away greed (v. 15) and stores up his treasure in heaven.  Abandoning greed (emptying) and storing treasure in heaven (filling) are like two sides of the same coin.  When we look at the overall flow of Luke 12, this connection becomes even clearer (Internet):

 

1.      The wisdom of rejecting greed (v. 15: emptying)

 

Jesus firmly states, “A person’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”

 

The foolish rich man believed that possessions were life itself, so he became obsessed with expanding his barns (greed).  But the wise steward, knowing the limits of earthly possessions, does not absolutize them and guards himself from the temptation of greed.

 

2.      A life that stores up treasure in heaven (v. 33: filling)

 

The concrete action that fills the place where greed has been cast out is charity and sharing.

The words, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor… a treasure in heaven that will not fail” (v. 33), mean that what is released on earth is transformed into eternal value in heaven.

 

By “giving out” the food entrusted to him (v. 42), the wise steward naturally transfers his treasure into heavenly storehouses.

 

3.      The direction of the heart: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (v. 34)

 

Those bound by greed have their hearts tied to the earth (their barns), so they either fear or forget the master’s coming.  But the steward who stores up treasure in heaven already has his heart set there, and thus can joyfully await the master’s return (remaining watchful).

 

In the end, the only way to overcome greed is to discover a more valuable treasure—the kingdom of heaven.  The one who practices this wisdom is the “wise steward” whom Jesus commends (Internet).

 

(b)   Second, I would like to meditate on what Jesus meant by “faithful.”

 

(i)      When I meditate on Jesus’ word “faithful,” I am reminded of something that happened long ago when my paternal grandmother was still alive.  One day, I accompanied her to visit an elderly deaconess she knew who was even older than she was.  At that time, we went together to a senior apartment in Koreatown where that deaconess lived.  When my grandmother introduced me to her as “a grandson who will become a pastor in the future,” the elderly deaconess turned around, looked at me, and said just one sentence: “Be faithful.”  This one statement from her is something I have never forgotten in my life.

          

·       Therefore, as a pastor, I must be a faithful person.  A faithful pastor is one who serves the Lord sincerely, testifying honestly to the true word of God (Ps. 33:4) and speaking truthfully (Prov. 12:17).  The truthful words that come from the mouth of a faithful pastor who serves sincerely carry persuasive power (Job 6:25, paraphrased).  The reason is that a faithful pastor does not merely love others with words, but loves them sincerely through actions (1 Jn. 3:18).

 

-     I would like to share only the introduction from a reflection I wrote after a dawn prayer meeting on February 3, 2010, titled “I want to be truthful, sincerely”:

 

Am I truly a faithful (truthful) person? At today’s early morning prayer meeting, I sang hymn  “I Want to Be a Believer,” to God.  This hymn has only four verses: “I want to be a believer, sincerely” (verse 1), “I want to love, sincerely” (verse 2), “I want to be holy, sincerely” (verse 3), and “I want to be like Jesus, sincerely” (verse 4).  But today, I added one more verse as I sang to God: “I want to be truthful, sincerely, sincerely / I want to be truthful, sincerely / sincerely, sincerely / I want to be truthful, sincerely.”  The reason I wanted to add this verse this morning is because “I want to be truthful, sincerely” has become my earnest prayer topic to God.  Especially as a pastor, I desire to be a faithful servant of the Lord before God and His people, so I sang, “I want to be truthful, sincerely…” to Him.

 

(ii)       Looking at today’s passage, Luke 12:42, Jesus tells His disciple Peter to “be a wise and faithful steward.” Here, the Greek word translated “faithful,” pistos (πιστός), is a very important term in the New Testament and is the adjectival form of pistis (πίστις), meaning “faith.” This word carries two main shades of meaning (Internet):

 

1.   Active meaning: “believing”

 

It refers to a state of trusting and relying on God or the master’s promise.

 

It describes the steward as firmly believing that the master will surely return and reward him.

 

2.   Passive meaning: “trustworthy, faithful”

 

This is the key emphasis in Luke 12:42. It means being “worthy of trust” in the eyes of the master.

         Faithfulness: a character that does not change over time.

 

         Loyalty: an attitude that prioritizes the master’s interests over one’s own.

 

3.   Linguistic characteristic

 

This word is derived from the verb peithō (“to persuade”).  That is, it refers to a state in which one is so fully persuaded by the master’s character or command that one’s heart does not waver.

 

In the Greek cultural context of the time, this word was often used to describe “a person who faithfully keeps a contract” or “a friend who does not betray.”

 

In conclusion, a “faithful (pistos) steward” is someone who, because he believes the master’s promise (active), acts in a way that is trustworthy in the eyes of the master (passive) (Internet).

 

·        This word “faithful” (pistos, πιστός) goes beyond the simple moral idea of not telling lies; biblically, it carries a deep meaning of “loyalty” and “trustworthiness.”  The specific meaning of the “faithfulness” that Jesus required of Peter can be described as follows (Internet):

 

1.   Unchanging consistency even in the master’s absence

 

The greatest characteristic of a faithful steward is that he behaves the same whether or not the master is visibly present.

 

The “wicked servant” in verse 45 changes his attitude as soon as he thinks the master is delayed—he begins to beat his fellow servants and eat and drink.  In contrast, the “faithful” servant maintains a consistent attitude, making the master’s command the standard of his life even without visible supervision.

 

2.   Faithfulness to the entrusted duty

In the Bible, the word “faithful” is often translated as “loyal.”  It means not acting according to one’s own will, but carrying out the master’s “instructions (will)” to the end.

 

The steward’s assigned duty was “to give them their food allowance at the proper time.”

 

A faithful person does not neglect this seemingly small, daily act of sharing but carries it out consistently. In other words, everyday diligence is biblical faithfulness.

 

3.   Trustworthiness that the master can rely on

 

The word ‘pistos’ is derived from the verb “to believe.”  It refers to a state in which trust has been established to the point that the master can confidently entrust his household affairs.

 

Because the master trusts the steward’s character and inner heart, he entrusts all his possessions to him (v. 44).

 

To be faithful before God means having such a high level of spiritual credibility that God can say, “I can confidently entrust my work to this person.”

 

4.   Stewardship identity: “It is not mine”

 

Faithfulness comes from not forgetting one’s position.

 

A faithful heart does not wield entrusted authority as if it were its own, but clearly maintains the identity of being only a manager.

 

In summary, the “faithfulness” that Jesus speaks of means “unchanging loyalty that lovingly cares for the souls entrusted to you—whether the master comes or not, whether he is watching or not.”

 

(c)    Third and last, I would like to meditate on “steward,” as Jesus mentioned.

(i)       The Greek word for “steward” in Luke 12:42 is oikonomos (οἰκονόμος):

 

1.      Etymological meaning

 

This word is a compound of two Greek words: “οἶκος” (oikos): house + “ νόμος” (nomos): law, management, to administer or distribute.  Literally, it means “one who manages the affairs or property of a household.”

 

2.      Biblical and historical background

 

Manager: In ancient society, a steward was responsible for overseeing the master’s property, servants, and finances.

 

Status: Though sometimes a free person, the steward was usually a servant who had earned the master’s deep trust.

 

Representative: He acted as a representative, managing and distributing what belonged not to himself but to the master, according to the master’s will.

 

3.      Teaching in Luke 12:42

 

Jesus asks who is the “wise and faithful steward” who will be put in charge of the household servants to give them their food at the proper time.  The steward’s key virtues are:

 

Wisdom (prudence): discerning the master’s will and handling matters appropriately.

 

Faithfulness: diligently fulfilling the entrusted duty even when the master is not watching.

 

A representative example of a steward in the Bible is Eliezer, who managed Abraham’s household.  Eliezer is considered a model of a “faithful and wise manager.”  Through his life, we can see the essential qualities of a steward (Internet):

 

1.      Meaning of his name

 

Eliezer means “My God is help.”  True to his name, he sought God’s help throughout his life as he carried out his master’s work.

 

2.      Key characteristics and roles

 

Trusted as a potential heir: Before Abraham had a son, he trusted Eliezer so deeply that he considered him not only the manager of all his possessions but even a possible heir (Genesis 15:2).

 

Entrusted with a crucial mission: Around the time Abraham was about 140 years old, Eliezer was sent to Abraham’s homeland to find a wife for Isaac (Genesis 24).  This was a task upon which the future of the household depended.

 

3.      Model of a steward (Genesis 24)

 

Eliezer’s process in finding a bride for Isaac serves as a model of a good steward:

 

A praying steward: Before carrying out his mission, he prayed, asking for God’s help rather than relying on his own wisdom.

 

Not drawing attention to himself: When he met Rebekah’s family, he introduced himself simply as “Abraham’s servant,” maintaining his role as a representative.

 

Mission first: Even when food was set before him, he said he would not eat until he had completed his task, prioritizing his mission over personal comfort.

Giving credit to God and the master: When the mission succeeded, he bowed and worshiped God, praising Him for showing kindness to his master (Internet).

 

(ii)        In Luke 12:42, Jesus says, “Who then is the wise and faithful steward, whom the master will put in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time?”  Here, the steward’s mission goes beyond simply guarding property; it centers on “caring for and building up the community” (Internet):

 

1.      “Whom the master puts in charge of his servants” (entrusted authority)

 

The most valuable asset entrusted to the steward is not money or buildings, but “people (servants).”

 

Meaning: God gives us positions, resources, and talents not so that we may rule over others, but so that we may protect and care for the people who belong to the Master.

 

Application: Realizing that the influence and resources we have are not for our own satisfaction, but for the people entrusted to us. 

 

2.      “To give them their food at the proper time” (appropriate provision)

 

The steward’s most important duty is to ensure that the members of the household are fed at the right time.

 

Meaning: “Food” includes not only physical needs (material support, welfare) but also spiritual needs (the Word, encouragement, comfort).  The phrase “at the proper time” implies attentiveness to each person’s situation and needs.

 

Application: Discern what others truly need and act as a channel that generously provides what we have at the right time.

 

In summary, this passage asks us: “Are you feeding the people entrusted to you with love?”  When the Master returns, the evaluation of a steward will not be based on “how much was accumulated,” but on “how appropriately it was distributed” (Internet).

 

·        At this point, I am reminded of the calling the Lord gave me in May 1987 at a college retreat of Victory Presbyterian Church, through John 6:1–5.  That calling was to share the Word of Jesus, who is the Bread of Life (v. 48).

 

-      Therefore, like now, every morning after meditating on God’s Word, I pray, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You,” and then I offer that meditation to God. I n Jesus’ name, I share it by faith with many people through KakaoTalk groups, the church website, my blog, Facebook groups, KakaoStory, Google Blog, or email.  As I do so, I believe the Lord will perform the miracle of the five loaves and two fish—feeding five thousand men and having twelve baskets left over.

 

n  This is a song based on lyrics I wrote, composed by a university junior named Minho Tae using AI. The title is “This Is My Mission”:

 

Thank You, Lord, the Word

I love Your Word

I meditate on it day and night

This is my joy

 

The Word of the Lord, the food of the spirit

You feed me, Lord

That Word makes me strong

This is my strength

 

O Lord of the miracle of the five loaves and two fish

I surrender to You

Sharing the meditation of Your Word

This is my mission