Ldg W/ Wisdom, Vision & Value

4.1 Devotion. The Good Steward, Part 4

Getting Started

The Good Steward: Part 4 – Reliability

During last workshop’s devotional, you considered the accountability that a good steward is always  ready to offer. The passage closed with, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” ( New International Version, 1973/1984, Luke 12:48b). However, Luke’s discussion that helps us understand the good steward draws out another point with similar language. In essence, what happens when the person who has been “given” or “entrusted” is found to be reliable?

Upon successful completion of this assignment, you will be able to:

· Recognize strong leadership skills through leaders in the Bible.

Background Information

Read (new tab) / Listen (new tab)  to Luke 16:10-14.

Imagine that you have been tasked with deciding which one of two team leaders should receive a promotion that includes a much larger sphere of financial and personnel oversight than their current role entails. As you are reviewing the work history and profile of each, they are very similar. Both have shown the same general level of productivity. Their teams respect both individuals. Actually, the only substantive difference you can find is that one of them has a better record of meeting deadlines and managing the financial components of their roles. The other has frequently been late with reports and reviewers have sometimes had to seek additional clarification, details, or documentation to understand financial records. Nothing has proved to be wrong, illegal, or unethical – just an attention to detail concern. Given what you know, which person would you select to move from the smaller role to the larger role? Which one has demonstrated that they are a better steward – a good steward?

More than likely, you would select the team member who has consistently shown attention to detail.

The opening to this workshop’s devotional passage states, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much” ( New International Version Bible, 1973/1984, Luke 26:10-17). In essence, trustworthiness is determined less by the amount of what someone has been entrusted with and more by the character and conduct of the person as they lead and manage resources. One of the important features of the good steward that Luke’s gospel describes is reliability or trustworthiness. 

After you have read the passage, consider the following prompts:

1. How does the Luke 16 passage continue to reveal good steward elements such as  reality, resources, and  readiness?

2. As you think about your life and your work as a leader, how have you demonstrated  reliability in your character? Competence? Conduct? Where have you observed trustworthiness (or lack of it) in other leaders? How has the trustworthiness of another leader affected you?

3. If you have a perspective different from a Christian worldview, what does that perspective suggest about reliability as an important characteristic of leadership?

4. As you consider reliability, in what ways have your attitudes and actions been more consistent with being an “owner” or “poor steward” versus being a “good steward?”

5. What are some initial ideas on how you could begin to make an owner/poor steward a good steward shift in those areas?

1. Based on the above prompts, you will write a one-half to one-page reflection paper that connects wisdom to an assessment of your own personal reliability.  Write a one-half to one-page reflection paper (Word document; @250 words double-spaced = 1 page) that shares your thoughts/perspectives on the themes of this devotional. Be sure to apply APA formatting guidelines.