Stewardship Part III

Part III in a 3 part series on Stewardship

In the final part in our series we are going to look at relationships. The way you relate to other people will show your heart for Christ. You could attend church faithfully and give more than your regular tithe but if you don’t honor Christ in your relationships people will see straight through you.

In Colossians 3:18-15 Paul gives us a detailed account as to how we can honor Christ in our relationships with our spouses, family and co-workers.


Colossians 3:18-25
18Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
19Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
20Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
21Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.
22Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.

Honoring God in your marriage relationship
Colossians 3:18 – We see the duty of wives. This is not an excuse for husbands to abuse their wives and it is not putting women below men in the marriage relationship. Nowhere does it say that a wife is to obey her husband. Children are to obey in verse 20 and slaves are to obey in verse 22, but wives are to submit. There’s a difference.

This is a charge to wives to allow their husbands to take the spiritual leadership role in the family. Some men fail to become spiritual leaders in their homes because they are lazy. Some fail because their wives don’t allow them.

Do you and your spouse feed each other a steady diet of put-downs? If you do, your marriage could be headed for divorce court.

When psychologists Cliff Nortarius and Howard Markman studied newlyweds over the first decade of marriage, they discovered that couples who stayed together uttered 5 or fewer put-downs in every 100 comments to each other. But couples who inflicted twice as many verbal wounds -- 10 or more putdowns out of every 100 comments -- later split up.

Watch what you say! Little, nit-picking comments are like a cancer in marriage, slowly draining the life out of a committed relationship.

Ephesians 5:21 tells us that both husbands and wives are to submit to the Lord and to each other.

Colossians 3:19 shows us the duty of husbands.

The above illustration shows what can happen when harsh words are spoken in the home and many husbands will say that they love their wives but they don’t fully understand the biblical definition of love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-5
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

A few years ago, the Harry S. Truman Library in Independence, MO made public 1,300 recently discovered letters that the late President wrote to his wife, Bess, over the course of a half-century. Mr. Truman had a lifelong rule of writing to his wife every day they were apart. He followed this rule whenever he was away on official business or whenever Bess left Washington to visit her beloved Independence.

Scholars are examining the letters for any new light they may throw on political and diplomatic history. For our part, we were most impressed by the simple fact that every day he was away, the President of the United States took time out from his dealing with the world's most powerful leaders to sit down and write a letter to his wife.

What better example is there of a man who showed love for his wife?

Honoring God in your family
Colossians 3:20-21

Ray Stedman lists three things that fathers do that can lead a child to discouragement. I’ve added a fourth.

Ignore them. A father who has no time for his children soon creates within them a deep-seated resentment. Children in these homes can grow up to feel unloved and unaccepted and may end up looking elsewhere to have their needs met.

Indulge them. These types of fathers give their children everything they want. This is not good because a child who is indulged all the time can become restless, dissatisfied, and spoiled.

Insult them. Some dads like to criticize their kids and even call them names. Sarcasm and ridicule can knock the stuffing out of a child faster than anything else.

Paul goes on to clarify his charge to parents in Ephesians 6:4.
4Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Honoring God at work
Finally, in Colossians 3:22-25 Paul gives us three ways to honor Christ in our relationships at work.

1. Do your best at your job at all times.

2. Worship at your work.

3. Recognize Jesus as your boss.