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AMOS 6:1-7

1 TIMOTHY 6:17-21

LUKE 16: 19-31

SUNDAY REFLECTION

The theme for our Sunday reflection is “we shall account for our stewardship”. To give account means to produce a record of how one has used the resources placed under his or her care or management to his or her master or superior within a period of time. Stewardship, on the other hand, is the task of taking care of something such as property or resources. The theme “we shall account for our stewardship” can thus be rephrased as we shall be required to produce records of how we have managed our lives and the resources which God has blessed us with or has graciously bestowed on us. There are two important stewardship responsibilities that the Scripture readings of our reflection make reference to and these shall be the focus of our reflection. Majority of human beings on earth have the natural inclination to become leaders, possess power and amass wealth or have access to resources. We shall therefore deliberate on the following forms of stewardship and our expected accountability to God and humanity:

1. Stewardship of leadership and power
2. Stewardship of wealth and control of resources.

Firstly, stewardship of leadership and power refers to people who are in charge of the governance of a nation, society or the church. Leadership or occupying the position of power is a special calling because the success or failure of a nation, society or church revolves around leadership and governance. When God put us in a place of leadership or power, we are ultimately accountable to Him and must ensure that our leadership or position of power is utilised for the development of the nation, society and the Church and for the preservation of human dignity, justice and protection of the poor and vulnerable in society. It was, for this reason, the Prophet Amos called out and warned the leaders and elites of Isreal about God’s displeasure concerning their corrupt practices and mismanagement of the nation and its resources. ” “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel comes!…“Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall, who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and like David invent for themselves instruments of music, who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph! Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile, and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.” (Amos 6:1, 4-7). Leaders in the governance of the state, church and society must understand that God takes great interest in human dignity and justice. Political, traditional and religious leaders and all those in a position of civil authority in one way or the other must first all, fear God and discharge their duties with humility, probity, diligence, accountability and unconditional love for the ordinary citizen devoid of malice, vindictiveness, corruption and oppression. There are records of wicked and oppressive leaders in the history of humanity whose lives ended miserably, surely we shall account for our stewardship and this accountability begins here and now and ultimately ends on the judgement day when our final fate will be determined by God. Currently, Ghana and for that matter most African countries need good stewardship in the area of leadership in the management of our economic crisis and environmental degradation in the form of illegal mining, commonly known as “galamsey” Those who desire to lead or occupy positions of power to rule or govern people must be watchful and be good stewards in order to render a good and acceptable account to God and the people they represent and lead.

Secondly, close to the stewardship of leadership and power is the stewardship of wealth. There is a direct relationship between power and wealth although not all wealthy people are in the position of power. It is important to note that we can also acquire power with wealth which is usually the norm in partisan politics and some traditional political circles. I dare say that even in ecclesiastical politics there is a nexus between wealth and power. We have been greatly admonished to be good stewards of the wealth God blesses us with. In the story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), we observe that the rich man was a bad steward of his wealth on earth because he was wicked and insensitive to the needs of poor Lazarus who represent the poor and vulnerable in our society today, therefore “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue because I am in agony in this fire.’ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ (Luke 16:22-26). Beloved in the Lord, if you are still alive then be a good steward of the wealth God has placed into your hands and give a good account of your stewardship. To give a good account of our wealth as stewards, Paul admonishes us through his letter to Timothy to “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way, they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19).

In summary beloved in the Lord, those of us who have been blessed and given the responsibility to be stewards of leadership and power and stewards of wealth must understand that we are ultimately accountable to God and the people we serve. We must account for our stewardship by ensuring that through our leadership, there is respect for human dignity, justice and care for the poor and vulnerable through a fair distribution of the nation’s wealth. Again, we must be good stewards of our wealth by sharing with those who are in need to please God. May the Holy Spirit continually enable us to be good and accountable stewards of leadership, power and wealth. Amen.