Titus 1:7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre.
Suppose you are going on a trip for a month and you entrust something of great value to a friend. When you came back, what would you expect to find? Certainly, anyone you entrust with something of value you would expect to steward it in light of the fact that you own it and they do not. It is a trust, not an ownership. You would expect them to treat this valuable thing, whether your child or your money, with deference to your will.
In Titus 1, Paul begins by saying, “Paul, a servant of God.” Then, in verse 7 he specifies the kind of servant that a servant of God is. Speaking of those who lead in the church, verse 7 says, “For a bishop then must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre.” He goes on to talk about other attributes that should characterize such a steward. Notice he says, “For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled.”
By definition a steward is not self-willed; he is a servant of God. In verse 3 Paul says that God had committed His Word to Paul. So this gospel was committed unto Paul, but it belonged to God. That is why the following verses say that such a servant should be holy, temperate, and not governed by his anger. These are things that are important because a steward is not self-willed.
It is not a steward’s prerogative to decide what he will do with what he has because what he has belongs to someone else. What he has belongs to Someone greater. When my life or even my ministry is characterized by my opinions, my desires, my ambitions, my quirks, or my cranks, then I am out of line. I don’t own me; God does. I don’t own the things that God has given me; God does.
Sometimes we talk about a person being “gifted.” Indeed, they are. What they have is a gift, not a possession. We are stewards. The only way for a steward to live as he ought is to follow whom he should, and that is the God Who gives us all things that we steward. A steward by definition is not self-willed. He is given to the will of Someone greater, and that Someone greater is the God Who created