#046: The Stewardship Mandate

Why being "just enough" is actually selfish.

AuthorAuthor

Ravi Patel & Chriss Mogaka
March 08, 2026

📱 TL;DR

Being broke isn't a badge of holiness; it’s a barrier to helpfulness. You can't be the Good Samaritan if you don't have the silver to pay the innkeeper. It’s time to stop "maintaining" and start multiplying.

Welcome, Family

❝

I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.

- The Unjust Steward, Luke 16:3

Most of us were taught that the "Unjust Steward" in the Bible was a villain to be avoided. But Jesus did something radical: He told His followers to look at the way the world handles money and get that smart.

He wasn't praising the man’s dishonesty; He was praising his shrewdness. The steward knew his time was short, so he used his current resources to secure his future friends.

Meanwhile, the "Children of Light" are often the most financially illiterate people on the planet. We pray for the harvest but refuse to learn how to manage the silo.

🍞 This Week's Bread

  • ⏳ The Sign: The $135 Fire Offering

  • 📖 The Word: The Least of These (Luke 16:10)

  • 🌍 The Witness: The Myth of "Just Enough"

  • 🔥 The Work: The Entropy Audit

  • ⚡ Midweek Power: Wednesday Prayer

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⏳ THE SIGN
The $135 Tragedy

Photo Credit: Freepik

A family loses their home to a fire. They stand before a congregation of forty believers—people who serve a God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills.

The plate goes around. The total? $135. (And $100 of that came from one visitor). That’s $34 from 39 people.

The Reality Check: Our lack of resources isn't just a "personal problem"—it’s a ministry problem. When the church is broke, our "thoughts and prayers" have no hands and feet.

We’ve been programmed to think money is the root of all evil, but let’s be clear: The love of money is the root. The lack of money is a tool of the enemy to keep you from being a blessing.

📖 THE WORD
The "Least" Test

The Unjust Steward

"He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much... if ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?"

- Luke 16:10-11 (KJV)

Look at the hierarchy Jesus establishes:

  1. The Least: Money (Unrighteous Mammon).

  2. The Much: True Riches (Spiritual Authority/Souls).

If you can’t manage a budget, why would God trust you with a revival? If you are "unjust" (lazy or fearful) with your paycheck, you are proving you aren't ready for the "True Riches."

Money is the set of training wheels for spiritual power.

🌍 THE WITNESS
The Good Samaritan Had Excellent Credit

Photo Credit: Faithful Fable

We love the story of the Good Samaritan, but we overlook his bank account.

To save the man on the side of the road, the Samaritan needed:

  • Physical Resources: Oil and wine.

  • Transportation: His own beast of burden.

  • Liquid Cash: To pay the innkeeper.

  • Excellent Credit: The promise to pay "whatever more" on his return.

If the Samaritan had been "just getting by," he would have had to walk past the dying man just like the Priest and the Levite did.

The "Just Enough" Mindset is Selfish. It says, "I have enough for my rent and my latte, so I’m good." But the Stewardship Mandate says, "I need an abundance so I can pay my neighbor's rent when the fire comes."

🔥 THE WORK
The Entropy Audit

Photo Credit: Psephizo

In Matthew 25, the servant who "maintained" his talent was called "wicked and slothful." In God’s Kingdom, standing still is falling behind. This is the Law of Entropy: anything left to itself moves toward disorder.

Grab your bank statement and a pen:

  1. The Maintenance Trap: Are you just trying to "keep what you have," or are you actively seeking to multiply it? (Maintenance = Neglect).

  2. The Secular Study: Who is a "person of the world" whose business acumen you can learn from without adopting their values? (The Pagan Palace principle).

  3. The Capacity Question: If a friend lost their home tomorrow, do you have the "oil and wine" to help, or are you the one needing the offering?

🙏 PRAYER CORNER

Every Wednesday at 8:00 PM EST, we gather to move from lack to abundance.

Let us pray:

"Father, we repent for calling our financial laziness 'piety.'

We surrender the fear that kept us from multiplying the talents You gave us. We refuse the 'Just Enough' mindset that keeps us from being the hands and feet of Jesus.

Teach us to be shrewd. Teach us to be diligent. Grant us the wisdom to handle the 'least' so You can trust us with the 'much.' Make us Certain Samaritans in a hurting world. Amen."

📅 What's Next

Virtual Prayer Meeting (Virtual)
Wednesday, Mar 11 (8-9 PM ET)
We gather weekly to strengthen ourselves in the Lord—just like Hagar.
[🔗 Join Live] 

Virtual Bible Study (Virtual)
Friday, Mar 13 (8-10 PM ET)
[🔗 Join Live] 

✝️ Final Word

Stop treating poverty like a spiritual discipline. God is a God of abundance, and He wants His children to have the resources to change the world.

Stop maintaining. Start multiplying.

In His Love,
- Mogaka Events Ministry

P.S. Entropy never sleeps. If you aren't intentionally growing your resources, you are losing them to the world. Forward this to one friend who needs to hear that God wants them to be a "Certain Samaritan."

Come As You Are is a Spirit-led devotional for young adults hungry for God's presence. Written by Ravi Patel and Chriss Mogaka.