Teaching You To Become A Good Steward
Jesus calls upon His servants to be be faithful, even if it's faithfulness over small things (Luke 16:10). In Acts 11:23, Paul exhorted the Antioch church to “remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose.” Faithfulness, or we could call it “plodding,” doesn't happen in a vacuum of perspective. It happens when we have “steadfast purpose.” Inherent in the word faithful is the idea of being faithful to something—not to an ideal, or to a career, or to a ministry, but to a Person. Faithfulness is grounded in a life-changing knowledge of God. Faithful plodding necessitates the right view of God.
It may be that you are the small-town pastor at a small-time church. Families are falling apart. Nobody is getting saved. Ministry is discouraging, and you don't even have enough money to fix the leaking roof. Do you have perspective? Then be faithful. Plod away. Maybe your life has been characterized by radical vision met with realistic discouragement. Do you have perspective? Then plod on, my friend. Do you lack visible results or big numbers? If your perspective is intact, plod on. Are you a missionary whose prayer letters have no news of conversions? Cling to your perspective and plod on.
The contemporary fixation on a radical Christian life and on daring deeds really strips the romance away from faithfulness. There's nothing radical and earth-shaking about faithfulness. But God requires faithfulness from his servants. Be faithful. Plod.
But plod with the right perspective.
How to Regain Perspective
How do you regain the right perspective?
- Establish your ministry vision and mission. If your ministry lacks a clear vision and mission statement,
it's time to draw one up. - Or, if you have a mission and vision, but they are forgotten or defunct, scrap it and start afresh.
The very process of developing ministry vision is an exciting activity that quickly aligns your perspective and furnishes you with fresh power for ministry.
“You can persevere in any definite pursuit.” Plodding by itself isn't worth any accolades. It is only when one has a “definite pursuit,”—a faith-filled, God-given perspective on life—that he can plod, persevere, and succeed. “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.” That's what plodding with perspective is all about.