“It is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful [1 Corinthians 4:1-2]: that is, that he does not appropriate to himself his master’s goods, that he does not as a master lay claim for himself but administer as a steward. For a steward’s part is to administer well the things committed to his charge: not to say that his master’s things are his own; but, on the contrary, that his own are his master’s. Let every one think on these things, both he that hath power in speech and he that possesses wealth, namely, that he hath been entrusted with a master’s goods and that they are not his own; let him not keep them with himself, nor set them down to his own account; but let him impute them unto God who gave them all.”
John Chyrsostom (c. 347-407), Archbishop of Constantinople, in Homilies on the Epistles to the Corinthians X.5.
He received the epithet “chrysostomos” (translated from the Greek as “golden mouthed”) because he was an eloquent communicator. He was one of the four doctors of the Eastern Church.
Chrysostom states plainly that we must not “lay claim” to anything we possess for ourselves but rather administer all we possess according to God’s purposes. When we handle God’s resources in this way, we serve as faithful stewards. Everything you and I possess belongs to God. Everything. So let’s administrate great!
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