There’s this story of a young man who was asked to build a house for his boss. He used substandard materials. Unknown to him, the house would be his eventually. When he finished, the master handed him the key, and he broke down in tears of regret – he’d built with inferior materials. He lacked the spirit of ownership.
Friend, the spirit of ownership is the spirit of the kingdom. It’s living and working with a stewardship mindset. We’re not owners; we’re mere stewards, put here to serve God’s interests (Luke 17:10). There are three stewardship tests: money, small things, and other man’s things (Luke 16:10-12).
Stewardship means owning it without owning it – using, keeping, and multiplying it as if it’s yours (Genesis 2:15, Luke 19:13). God loves you unconditionally but tests you before trusting you. He gives you a taste of His blessings before bringing you into greater ones (Psalms 34:8). Many miss great things by mishandling small things.
Fear and shame are tools the devil uses to stop stewardship (Matthew 25:25) – fear of losing what they have and shame of starting small. If you’re not ashamed to start small, God will take you higher. The Kingdom glorifies the least, last, and lost (Matthew 13:31-32, 19:30, Luke 15:1-32).
God starts us small for several reasons: to break pride, teach humility, and to master skills for greatness (1 Samuel 15:17-22, 2 Samuel 6:20-21). You learn to handle big things by handling small stuff. Use the season of smallness to master skills and make mistakes where it doesn’t count.
God starts us small to take the glory (1 Corinthians 1:26-29). He will not share His glory with any man. He uses the small and abased to confound the big, so no one boasts in His presence. When you experience the faithfulness of God in bringing greatness out of your smallness, it would humble you (1 Corinthians 15:8-10).
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria