Where The “Grind” Meets Stewardship
“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.” – Luke 16:10 NLT
Stewardship by definition is the “art of supervising or taking care of something, such as an organization or responsibility.” Yet stewardship, is not a point of conversation I often hear about regularly. Currently, as a young adult, I’m constantly reminded online of how I should be “grinding” or “working harder” to one day receive “success” or achieve the “American Dream”.
Yes. I believe hard work is necessary to overcome complacency or stagnation; But too much hustle or grind can often hurt more than it could help us. At what cost is it worth it to work for something if we ultimately lose ourselves in the process? My father and many mentors of mine instead taught me what it means to work as an honorable steward. Furthermore, I believe maturity was required of me to truly understand the meaning of that.
Stewardship, to me, reflects the heart posture behind the work you are doing. To be present, you must remain fully aware your current circumstances and the role that you contribute towards them. Furthermore, there’s a sense of diligence that’s required of us to properly steward the blessings we have. Stewardship and diligence come by understanding that, what we have right in front of us now, is not guaranteed and requires honorable work to sustain that which we currently possess. This could look like your day job, your finances, your home, education; Even something as simple as your clothes. How well you honor and pour into the things you have now will prepare you for the next stage to come in life.
Advancements in life are not always achieved in a “grind it out” fashion. There comes a time when it’s vital for us to appreciate the “in between” stages in life and practice consistency in our work ethic.
With that, I’d like to impart some helpful suggestions at how you could adjust your perspective in order to practice honorable stewardship:
Helpful Tip: Try Creating A Gratitude Journal
1) Have Gratitude, in everything.
Practicing gratitude reminds yourself of where you are at now in comparison to where you were before. Oftentimes we can allow ourselves to become so overwhelmed with the desire for more, that we forget how much we’ve already gained. It takes an intentional effort every day to deny our flesh and live with a spirit of gratitude. Adopting a glass half-full mindset to your daily pursuits will help you slow down and appreciate the art of being a “work in progress”.
2) Slow down
Have you ever been moving so fast that you miss the slightest things you normally wouldn’t think twice about? Sometimes when we are moving too quickly at something, we pay less attention to the very things that are vital in order to make it to the next step.
Big achievements are great, however sustained success holds much more weight. Be weary of allowing yourself to be in constant search of the dopamine from “checklist” achievements that you hold less appreciation towards the primary things that provided the foundation for your present stage in the first place. Sustained success starts by strengthening the foundation you build from.
3) Know YOUR chapter!
When you begin to view your life through seasons, your perspective changes. Everything from birth, to childhood, teenage years, young adult years, marriage. I’ll take it a step further, sports, academia, passion projects, stress seasons, harvest seasons, holidays even—these are all different types of seasons that we experience in our life. The point is every season in our life ultimately sets us up for the next one.
Life is a cohesive experience that builds upon itself. When we step back realize how the past chapters of our life led us to today, we can better understand how important it is that we honor what we have today as we work for what’s to come tomorrow.
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In the words of Uncle Ben from my ALL-TIME favorite superhero series, Spider-Man, “With great power comes great responsibility”. THIS IS SO TRUE! The more that we gain, the more we must steward. Honor your circumstances by having gratitude, slowing down and by fully understanding the chapter that you are in. The future lies in our hands. My encouragement for you this month is to take delight in the art of diligent stewardship. Those very hands that work now will be the same ones that craft the future you’re working towards!
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Thank you for reading this Journey Entry! All Glory Belongs to God!
