35 Bible Verses about Stewardship

About this time, as the number of disciples was increasing, complaints were made by the Greek-speaking Jews against the Hebrews because their widows were habitually overlooked in the daily ministration. So the Twelve called together the general body of the disciples and said, "It does not seem fitting that we Apostles should neglect the delivery of God's Message and minister at tables. Therefore, brethren, pick out from among yourselves seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, and we will appoint them to undertake this duty.read more.
But, as for us, we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the delivery of the Message." The suggestion met with general approval, and they selected Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch. These men they brought to the Apostles, and, after prayer, they laid their hands upon them.

He said also to His disciples: "There was a rich man who had a steward, about whom a report was brought to him, that he was wasting his property. He called him and said, "'What is this I hear about you? Render an account of your stewardship, for I cannot let you hold it any longer.' "Then the steward said within himself, "'What am I to do? For my master is taking away the stewardship from me. I am not strong enough for field labour: to beg, I should be ashamed.read more.
I see what to do, in order that when I am discharged from the stewardship they may give me a home in their own houses.' "So he called all his master's debtors, one by one, and asked the first, 'How much are you in debt to my master?' "'A hundred firkins of oil,' he replied. "'Here is your account,' said the steward: 'sit down quickly and change it into fifty firkins.' "To a second he said, "'And how much do you owe?' "'A hundred quarters of wheat,' was the answer. "'Here is your account,' said he: 'change it into eighty quarters.' "And the master praised the dishonest steward for his shrewdness; for, in relation to their own contemporaries, the men of this age are shrewder than the sons of Light. "But I charge you, so to use the wealth which is ever tempting to dishonesty as to win friends who, when it fails, shall welcome you to the tents that never perish. The man who is honest in a very small matter is honest in a great one also; and he who is dishonest in a very small matter is dishonest in a great one also. If therefore you have not proved yourselves faithful in dealing with the wealth that is tainted with fraud, who will entrust to you the true good? And if you have not been faithful in dealing with that which is not your own, who will give you that which is your own?

"Why, it is like a man who, when going on his travels, called his bondservants and entrusted his property to their care. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one--to each according to his individual capacity; and then started from home. Without delay the one who had received the five talents went and employed them in business, and gained five more.read more.
In the same way he who had the two gained two more. But the man who had received the one went and dug a hole and buried his master's money. "After a long lapse of time the master of those servants returned, and had a reckoning with them. The one who had received the five talents came and brought five more, and said, "'Sir, it was five talents that you entrusted to me: see, I have gained five more.' "'You have done well, good and trustworthy servant,' replied his master; 'you have been trustworthy in the management of a little, I will put you in charge of much: share your master's joy.' "The second, who had received the two talents, came and said, "'Sir, it was two talents you entrusted to me: see, I have gained two more.' "'Good and trustworthy servant, you have done well,' his master replied; 'you have been trustworthy in the management of a little, I will put you in charge of much: share your master's joy.' "But, next, the man who had the one talent in his keeping came and said, "'Sir, I knew you to be a severe man, reaping where you had not sown and garnering what you had not winnowed. So being afraid I went and buried your talent in the ground: there you have what belongs to you.' "'You wicked and slothful servant,' replied his master, 'did you know that I reap where I have not sown, and garner what I have not winnowed? Your duty then was to deposit my money in some bank, and so when I came I should have got back my property with interest. So take away the talent from him, and give it to the man who has the ten.' (For to every one who has, more shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him who has nothing, even what he has shall be taken away.) But as for this worthless servant, put him out into the darkness outside: *there* will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.'

So He said to them, "A man of noble family travelled to a distant country to obtain the rank of king, and to return. And he called ten of his servants and gave each of them a pound, instructing them to trade with the money during his absence. "Now his countrymen hated him, and sent a deputation after him to say, 'We are not willing that he should become our king.'read more.
And upon his return, after he had obtained the sovereignty, he ordered those servants to whom he had given the money to be summoned before him, that he might learn their success in trading. "So the first came and said, "'Sir, your pound has produced ten pounds more.' "'Well done, good servant,' he replied; 'because you have been faithful in a very small matter, be in authority over ten towns.' "The second came, and said, "'Your pound, Sir, has produced five pounds.' "So he said to this one also, "'And you, be the governor of five towns.' "The next came. "'Sir,' he said, 'here is your pound, which I have kept wrapt up in a cloth. For I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man: you take up what you did not lay down, and you reap what you did not sow.' "'By your own words,' he replied, 'I will judge you, you bad servant. You knew me to be a severe man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow: why then did you not put my money into a bank, that when I came I might have received it back with interest? "And he said to those who stood by, "'Take the pound from him and give it to him who has the ten pounds.' ("They said to him, "`Sir, he already has ten pounds.') "'I tell you that to every one who has anything, more shall be given; and from him who has not anything, even what he has shall be taken away. But as for those enemies of mine who were unwilling that I should become their king, bring them here, and cut them to pieces in my presence.'"

But he who had not been told it and yet did what deserved the scourge, will receive but few lashes. To whomsoever much has been given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been entrusted, of him a larger amount will be demanded.

But I tell you that for every careless word that men shall speak they will be held accountable on the day of Judgement.

So we see that every one of us will give account of himself to God.

At this they are astonished--that you do not run into the same excess of profligacy as they do; and they speak abusively of you. But they will have to give account to Him who stands ready to pronounce judgement on the living and the dead.

For those who have filled the deacon's office wisely and well, are already gaining for themselves an honourable standing, and are acquiring great freedom of speech in proclaiming the faith which rests on Christ Jesus.

As for us Apostles, let any one take this view of us--we are Christ's officers, and stewards of God's secret truths. This being so, it follows that fidelity is what is required in stewards.

And if I preach willingly, I receive my wages; but if against my will, a stewardship has nevertheless been entrusted to me.

We are to tell how God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not charging men's transgressions to their account, and that He has entrusted to us the Message of this reconciliation. On Christ's behalf therefore we come as ambassadors, God, as it were, making entreaty through our lips: we, on Christ's behalf, beseech men to be reconciled to God. He has made Him who knew nothing of sin to be sin for us, in order that in Him we may become the righteousness of God.

But when He who set me apart even from my birth, and called me by His grace, saw fit to reveal His Son within me in order that I might tell among the Gentiles the Good News concerning Him, at once I did not confer with any human being,

Indeed, when they saw that I was entrusted with the preaching of the Good News to the Gentiles as Peter had been with that to the Jews--

But as God tested and approved us before entrusting us with His Good News, so in what we say we are seeking not to please men but to please God, who tests and approves our motives.

and is not in accordance with the Good News of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.

Do not be careless about the gifts with which you are endowed, which were conferred on you through a divine revelation when the hands of the elders were placed upon you.

O Timothy, guard the truths entrusted to you, shunning irreligious and frivolous talk, and controversy with what is falsely called 'knowledge';

That precious treasure which is in your charge, guard through the Holy Spirit who has His home in our hearts.

And at the appointed time He clearly made known His Message in the preaching with which I was entrusted by the command of God our Saviour:

Why, who gives you your superiority, my brother? Or what have you that you did not receive? And if you really did receive it, why boast as if this were not so?

Whatever be the gifts which each has received, you must use them for one another's benefit, as good stewards of God's many-sided kindness. If any one preaches, let it be as uttering God's truth; if any one renders a service to others, let it be in the strength which God supplies; so that in everything glory may be given to God in the name of Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the might to the Ages of the Ages. Amen.

Do not be careless about the gifts with which you are endowed, which were conferred on you through a divine revelation when the hands of the elders were placed upon you. Habitually practise these duties, and be absorbed in them; so that your growing proficiency in them may be evident to all.

Flee from fornication. Any other sin that a human being commits lies outside the body; but he who commits fornication sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your bodies are a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is within you--the Spirit whom you have from God? And you are not your own, for you have been redeemed at infinite cost. Therefore glorify God in your bodies.

"If you desire to be perfect," replied Jesus, "go and sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have wealth in Heaven; and come, follow me."

Then Jesus looked at him and loved him, and said, "One thing is lacking in you: go, sell all you possess and give the proceeds to the poor, and you shall have riches in Heaven; and come and be a follower of mine."

On receiving this answer Jesus said to him, "There is still one thing wanting in you. Sell everything you possess and give the money to the poor, and you shall have wealth in Heaven; and then come, follow me."

"But beware of doing your good actions in the sight of men, in order to attract their gaze; if you do, there is no reward for you with your Father who is in Heaven. When you give in charity, never blow a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and streets in order that their praises may be sung by men. I solemnly tell you that they already have their reward. But when you are giving in charity, let not your left hand perceive what your right hand is doing,read more.
that your charities may be in secret; and then your Father--He who sees in secret--will recompense you.

give, and gifts shall be bestowed on you. Full measure, pressed, shaken down, and running over, shall they pour into your laps; for with the same measure that you use they shall measure to you in return."

Looking up He saw the people throwing their gifts into the Treasury--the rich people. He also saw a poor widow dropping in two farthings, and He said, "In truth I tell you that this widow, so poor, has thrown in more than any of them.read more.
For from what they could well spare they have all of them contributed to the offerings, but she in her need has thrown in all she had to live on."

In all things I have set you an example, showing you that, by working as I do, you ought to help the weak, and to bear in mind the words of the Lord Jesus, how He Himself said, "'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

Among all those who had embraced the faith there was but one heart and soul, so that none of them claimed any of his possessions as his own, but everything they had was common property; while the Apostles with great force of conviction delivered their testimony as to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus; and great grace was upon them all. And, in fact, there was not a needy man among them, for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the money which they realised,read more.
and gave it to the Apostles, and distribution was made to every one according to his wants.

But we desire to let you know, brethren, of the grace of God which has been bestowed on the Churches of Macedonia; how, while passing through great trouble, their boundless joy even amid their deep poverty has overflowed to increase their generous liberality. For I can testify that to the utmost of their power, and even beyond their power, they have of their own free will given help.read more.
With earnest entreaty they begged from us the favour of being allowed to share in the service now being rendered to God's people. They not only did this, as we had expected, but first of all in obedience to God's will they gave their own selves to the Lord and to us.

But do not forget that he who sows with a niggardly hand will also reap a niggardly crop, and that he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Let each contribute what he has decided upon in his own mind, and not do it reluctantly or under compulsion. "It is a cheerful giver that God loves." And God is able to bestow every blessing on you in abundance, so that richly enjoying all sufficiency at all times, you may have ample means for all good works.read more.
As it is written, "He has scattered abroad, he has given to the poor, his almsgiving remains for ever." And God who continually supplies seed for the sower and bread for eating, will supply you with seed and multiply it, and will cause your almsgiving to yield a plentiful harvest. May you be abundantly enriched so as to show all liberality, such as through our instrumentality brings thanksgiving to God.