In the creation story, God does something easy to miss. Genesis 1:11 says He made “seed-bearing plants.” Not just plants, but plants that carry seeds inside them. That small detail opens up a big idea at the heart of biblical stewardship: everything God puts in your hands carries the potential to multiply.
A seed can be sown and bring a harvest, or it can be buried and forgotten. If a fruit had no seeds, the last one you ate would be the last one there ever was. Your time, your talent and your money work the same way. The question is what you will do with them.
This post comes from “The Good Stewards,” a message in our series The Generous Life.
If you only have a minute:
- You are a steward, not an owner. Everything you have belongs to God and has been entrusted to you.
- God rewards faithful stewards. “A man reaps what he sows” (Galatians 6:7).
- You hold three seeds. Your time, your talent and your money can all be sown into God’s Kingdom.
- Financial freedom means peace. It does not mean extraordinary wealth. It means extraordinary peace.
- We will give an account. One day God will ask what we did with what He gave us.
What is biblical stewardship?
Jesus told a story in Matthew 25:14-30 about a man going on a journey. Before he left, he entrusted his wealth to three servants: five bags of gold to one, two bags to another and one bag to the third, “each according to his ability.” The first two put the money to work and doubled it. The third dug a hole in the ground and hid it. After a long time, the master came back to settle accounts.
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’” (Matthew 25:21)
In this message, the master in the story is God, and we are the servants. The master gave his own resources to his servants and then watched to see what they would do with them. That is what biblical stewardship means: we are stewards, not owners.
A steward cares for someone else’s property
A steward is someone who cares for another person’s property. If something is yours, you can do as you please with it. If it belongs to someone else, you do as the owner pleases. So the real question is this: is what you have yours, or is it His?
“Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours.” (1 Chronicles 29:11)
The apostle Paul asked it this way in the New Living Translation (NLT): “What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?” (1 Corinthians 4:7).
Think of a child whose parents hand them money to buy a birthday present for Dad. The child wraps the gift, presents it proudly and says, “Look what I got you!” But who really paid for it? You can’t give God anything He hasn’t already given you. The problem is that once something is in our hands, we start to think of it as ours.
God rewards those who sow well
God is a King, and He has a Kingdom. Wherever God rules and is given room, that area flourishes. Scripture describes this with a simple picture from farming: you reap what you sow.
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:7-9)
Sowing to please the flesh is greed, selfishness and thinking only of yourself. Sowing to please the Spirit is generosity, because God Himself is generous. Doing good for others is the call of God, and it is going to cost you something. Sow, and you will reap. That is the promise.
The 3 seeds of biblical stewardship: time, talent and money
God has given us the seeds we need to keep the harvest growing. If there is no sowing, there is no reaping. Here are the three seeds this message points to.
Seed 1: Your time
God has given you a set amount of time on this earth. Unlike money, you can’t earn more of it. Once a moment passes, it is gone. Give your time to the Lord, and see Him bring order to your days.
One of the most overlooked ways to do that is the Sabbath, a 24-hour period set apart for God and for rest. Many people who would never steal or cheat on their spouse think nothing of ignoring it. Yet when you set aside time for God, your schedule falls into order and you find peace and renewal instead of burnout.
Serving is another way to sow your time. The people who hold babies, greet guests and help behind the scenes at church aren’t just filling a role. They are planting seeds of faith that grow into changed lives.
Seed 2: Your talent
Everyone has been given talents and abilities, but raw talent is only a seed. Give your effort and work to develop your talent into a skill, and that skill becomes the harvest. If you are a musician, practice. If you are great with numbers, learn to manage resources well. If you are handy with tools, use your skills to build something for God’s Kingdom.
When this message was shared, it honored two volunteers who built our church’s tech booth without being paid. Work like that may go unnoticed for a while, but it is never wasted.
“A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great.” (Proverbs 18:16)
Seed 3: Your money
Give your money, a seed God has put in your hands, to the Lord and see Him give you financial freedom. To be clear, financial freedom doesn’t mean extraordinary wealth. It means extraordinary peace.
In this message, a couple shared what they learned over years of giving. They did not learn “we give and we get.” They learned “we give and relax,” because they learned who their provider is. Giving costs a lot, but how much is peace worth?
God isn’t poor, and He isn’t begging for your money. He is not after your money. He is after your heart. Giving is not for God, it is for you. Through giving we learn peace and provision, and we watch greed and selfishness die. A tithe, which means giving the first 10% of your income, isn’t a donation. It is returning what already belongs to God.
“Remember this, a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves a person who gives cheerfully. And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.” (2 Corinthians 9:6-8, NLT)
What this means for you
You have been entrusted with a great wealth of time, talent and treasure. Will you sow it or hoard it? Look at your week, your abilities and your bank account, and ask God where He wants you to plant what He has already given you.
We will give an account for what we were given
In the story of the bags of gold, the master eventually returns to “settle accounts” (Matthew 25:19). We don’t always like this part. It is easy to cheer for God’s promises of rest and peace and plug our ears when He talks about accountability. But Jesus would not have included it if He did not mean it.
“So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.” (Romans 14:12)
At the end of your life, you won’t be judged by how much time, talent or money you had, but by what you did with it. Did you spend your time on things that didn’t matter? Did you let your talent go undeveloped? Did you hold on to wealth instead of trusting God?
Open hands or closed hands?
In this message, the question God may ask us was put simply: “Was your hand open or closed?” Open hands say, “God, use whatever You like.” But open hands are also ready to receive whatever God wants to give. It goes both ways. Sometimes we want something from God but can’t receive it, because our hands are closed.
It is never too late to start sowing. Give your time by resting with God and serving others. Develop your talent and use it for His Kingdom. Trust God with your finances by giving generously. Sow what God has given you, and you will reap a harvest that lasts, not just in this life but for eternity.
Want to go deeper? Read how God’s generosity transforms our lives and why treasures in heaven are the one investment that lasts forever, both from The Generous Life series. You can also read the full parable in Matthew 25:14-30.
Want to go deeper into the story behind this message? Read The Parable of the Talents: What Jesus Meant by “Well Done”.
Wherever you are today, there is a next step. If you want to know more about who Jesus is, start here. If you need someone to pray with you, reach out to our prayer and care team. And if you live near Kissimmee, Florida, we would love to see you on a Sunday.
Frequently Asked Questions About Biblical Stewardship
What is biblical stewardship?
A steward is someone who cares for another person’s property. Biblical stewardship means recognizing that everything you have belongs to God, and caring for your time, talent and money the way He wants. “Everything in heaven and earth is yours” (1 Chronicles 29:11).
What are the three areas of stewardship?
This message points to three seeds God gives every person: your time, your talent and your money. Each one can be sown into God’s Kingdom to bring a harvest, or buried and forgotten.
Does giving to God make you rich?
That is not the point. In this message, financial freedom doesn’t mean extraordinary wealth. It means extraordinary peace. God promises to “generously provide all you need” (2 Corinthians 9:8, NLT).
