Volume XXII, Number 40 (Issue 1096) | September 30, 2024
We Are Stewards
Acknowledge it or not, you and I are stewards. That means we are responsible for the care of a great many things. The question is, are we good stewards? This topic found its way to my radar recently following a round of conversations about succession planning with a group of senior business executives. The participants, not counting myself, represented at least two generations. Not surprisingly, certain elements of their views tended to break along generational lines. However, their stances differed in ways you might not fully expect. But before I dive into some key elements of that discussion, I feel the need to offer a bit of context.
According to Webster together with other credible sources, the etymology of the word steward is traceable to the Old Norse word svinsti and the Middle English pre-12th century term stig. As such steward came to mean the individual who was responsible for the care and maintenance of the pig pen. Not the imagery one necessarily wants when it comes to caring for the many things that have been entrusted to each of us. (No offense to those who are engaged in the all-important task of feeding the nation and the world.) Certainly, that pig pen “steward” does not fully square with what I recall was the first time I heard the term in a sermon in church. That day and on countless days before and since, clergy of all stripes and denominations have preached about the need for us to be good stewards of all that has been entrusted to us including the command to give back a portion of the first fruits.
I am not going to use this time to go into the concept of the tithe or proportional giving as it is not my place in this setting, other than to note Sandy and I do make an annual commitment to our church. Instead, I want us to give serious thought to how we treat and care for the things that have been given (loaned) to us. Do we make effective use of them, treat them properly, and respect them? Starting with our time and talent, do we make good use of those gifts? If, at some point, we are blessed with a family including children, do we honor them and care for them? What about our vocations? Do we give those we work for and work with our best? Or do we sometimes waste and misuse the things that are entrusted to us? As leaders – regardless of the setting – do we invest in and prepare our people and teammates, so they are well prepared when the baton is passed to them?
Which brings me full circle to the discussion about succession planning. Remember, those in the meeting with me were already in senior positions with their organizations. To my pleasant surprise, those in the room from Gen X were already giving serious thought to who might succeed them and what they needed to do to have those individuals well prepared when the time came – be it in the near term due to some unexpected event or farther down the road and in due course. In contrast, several of those in the room who were Baby Boomers like me seemed genuinely reluctant to even visit the subject as if they were never going to retire, let alone experience a major health issue or pass away. And, when pressed about the need to prepare for the day when someone else was going to step into their role they became defensive. Granted, not everyone is comfortable facing their own mortality. I must also acknowledge that not everyone from the Boomer cohort was resistant to the need to identify potential candidates or do the work required to prepare one or more individuals to succeed them. However, the idea that anyone my age, or who is in a key role or position of leadership chooses to ignore the need to prepare for the day when they are no longer available or able to perform is not being a good steward of their organization and all who are connected to it.
In the end we are all tenants. So, let me ask you one more time, are you being a good steward of the things that have been entrusted to you?
Soli Deo Gloria
“Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.” Proverbs 27:23-24
J. Keith Hughey
Mobile: (210)260-0955
E-mail: keith@jkeithhughey.com
Website: www.jkeithhughey.com
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