A definition worth holding
It’s 11:47 p.m. and I’m staring at a paragraph I’ve rewritten ten times.
I’m writing about surrender. About how the King owns everything, how we’re stewards, not owners.
And I’m white-knuckling every word.
The irony isn’t lost on me. Here I am, trying to control a book about letting go.
And in the quiet, something breaks through. A whisper:
I’ve got this. Bring what you have. I’ll do the rest.
The book was never mine. It was entrusted.
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So what is stewardship, exactly?
Not a synonym for “be responsible with money.” Not a church word that shows up during pledge season. A framework that can hold the actual weight of your life.
I’m coming at this from a Christian faith. But the problem—the weight, the grasping—that’s human. And what this framework has given me feels less like religion and more like rest.
Here’s the definition I keep coming back to:
Stewardship is faithfully tending everything God has entrusted to you as worship, as mission, as formation.
Let me unpack that:
Faithfully — You’re measured by obedience and trust, not outcomes. You plant. God gives the growth.
Tending — You’re not passive. You labor. You build. You show up with your hands and your heart. But you do it within God’s story, not trying to write your own.
Everything — This isn’t just about money. It’s your time, your body, your work, your family, your attention, your neighborhood. No sacred/secular divide.
Entrusted — You didn’t earn it. You can’t keep it. It’s all on loan. That’s not a loss. That’s freedom.
The cost? If it’s not mine, I can’t arrange it for my ego. I can’t curate my life to impress people. I can’t hoard for security.
The freedom? If it’s not mine, then I am not God. I can stop being a counterfeit owner. I can labor with excellence and rest with peace, because the outcomes were never mine to secure.
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This week’s practice: Inventory of Trusts
Sit somewhere quiet with a blank page. Write down what God has placed in your hands:
- People: Who depends on you? Who has God given you to love?
- Time: What season of life are you in? What does this season require?
- Work: What contribution is yours to make right now?
- Resources: What provision has been given?
- Place: What ground are you standing on?
Now look at the list.
You didn’t earn any of this. You can’t keep any of this. It’s all entrusted.
The question isn’t “Am I doing enough?” It’s “Am I holding this the way it was meant to be held?”
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More next week,
Rex