Luke 16:2 – “And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.â€?

The first part of this verse applies to all of us, the second part will apply to each one of us before long.  Give an account of thy stewardship is a command addressed both to the godly and to the ungodly.

Yes there is the final accounting at the judgment seat of Christ, but how about now?

The reasonable demand. - “Give an account of thy stewardship”

First, give an account of the stewardship of your time.  How do you spend your time?  How many hours do you allow to run to waste?  Or worse yet, spend in frivolity and sin?

Listen; do you live as a dying man ought to live?  Do you realize that your days are few and are more precious than diamonds in a kings crown?

Now you don’t need to accuse yourself for time spent in needed recreation.  But how about that time just frittered away in the service of self and sin?  For instance, how did you spend this last week’s precious hours?

Can you say that hour spent in pursuit of the things of this world was well used when you could have been in church?  That hour spent rioting and in the company of drunkards?  That night spent in wantonness?

Next, give an account of thy stewardship as to thy talents.  No two of us are alike in our natural gifts.  Yet, we must each one give an account to God concerning the talents He has given to us.  Do you have a talent to teach?  A talent to sing, maybe even be in the choir, a talent to play an instrument, or maybe a talent to teach or help in Children’s Church.

How about the one who has ten talents and wastes them all?  Or maybe you are like me and just don’t have as many talents as others, do you think we will not be held accountable for the ones we do have?  We speak of giving ourselves in many ways, but how about giving ourselves to the Lord?  We give to all kinds of charities but do we give to the Lord?

This brings me to the next item, give an account of your substance.  There are some in this body of believers who God has entrusted a good deal of wealth, some with considerable substance, and many of us with considerable more than we really need.

But whether much or little, God will one day ask for an accounting of what we did with it.  Oh, we spend our money on things for self, the world, and pleasure, but oh so little for the things of eternity.  What a day that will be when we stand before Him and give an accounting of what we did with our money.

Next, give an account of our influence.  Now everybody has some kind of influence, like the mother who takes care of the little child.  Maybe no one else will know her influence.  But that little one she presses to her bosom may be a Spurgeon or Billy Sunday.  Every mother will have to give an account to God for her influence.

And then there is the fathers influence.  Oh hear me daddy, you cannot shake off your obligations to your children, whether you take them to a fundamental church or to a modernistic church.  Whether you send them to a good Christian school, Home School, or to the public school, or should I say to the government humanistic school?

Hear me now, they are your children and you must give an account to God concerning your offspring.  Oh yes, not only he who thrills a senate with his oratory, but he who speaks a word from the carpenters bench – each has his influence – and each must give an account for it.