A steward has the responsibility for properly caring for the possessions of another. In this capacity, he does not determine what is proper or improper; rather, the master of the house sets the standards of care for his possessions. In the parable beginning in Luke 16:1, a certain rich man (the master of the house) accused his steward of wasting his goods. The steward was told to give an account of his stewardship knowing that his irresponsible actions could soon end his stewardship. The Bible identifies the steward as “unjust” because of his unfaithfulness with the possessions of the master. The steward was not unjust because he lacked skill, but because he was not faithful.
Man is made up of three parts: spirit, soul, and body. Death takes place when the soul (Genesis 35:18) and the spirit (Genesis 25:8) leave the body. This event happens to everyone regardless of the individual’s spiritual state at death. Saved or lost, a person’s spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 3:21; Ecclesiastes 12:7). However, the soul’s destination is based upon whether or not a person has trusted Jesus Christ as Saviour during this life. There exists no midpoint between earth and heaven (or hell) to purge one’s sins, including places invented by religions to do so. For a saved person, the Bible declares that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). Unfortunately for the lost, this same outcome is not true. Following death, the Bible reveals that the lost man’s soul immediately goes to hell (Luke 16:23).
