“We are not cisterns made for hoarding, we are channels made for sharing.” – Billy Graham
All serious and successful businesses establish a code of ethics, a mission statement, and fundamentals as guides for how transactions are conducted. Often, these principles are moral in nature.
Back in 2022, the Client Solutions & Success Group where I work collaborated to develop “Our Team Code.” What follows is an excerpt from a series of emails titled “Fired Up Fridays,” written each week by my friend and colleague Jerry Francis for each of the 40 codes.
This week we’re talking about #31: We use our resources with good stewardship for the right investments.
Stewardship is an important concept to grasp.
Stewardship is the responsibility to care for, manage, and faithfully use resources that ultimately belong to someone else, acting with accountability, wisdom, and purpose for the benefit of the owner and others. From a biblical perspective, stewardship recognizes that God is the true owner of all things, and people are entrusted to manage His gifts—time, talents, relationships, finances, and creation—with faithfulness and integrity.
So why are we using that definition here?
To be good stewards, we need to understand that we are entrusted with the resources that the company owns and manages. We are expected to use the investment the company has made in us to grow the resources of the company, so then that return can be for the benefit of the company.
In an ESOP setting, (Employee Ownership Stock Plan), everyone is an owner, so the entire ownership (meaning everyone in the company) is expecting a return on the investment they have made in us. We are provided with time, training, finances, tools, and opportunities by the owners (again, everyone), so they can get a return on their investment. So not only are the people managing the company expecting a return, but so is everyone else who has their time and talent invested. And since you are an owner, you are part of that pool: you are invested in yourself and stewarding your own resources.
And the most important thing to realize is that none of this is truly yours.
Someday you will retire, or leave the company, or end your time on earth, and all those resources will end up with someone else. Your stewardship is truly that – managing things that don’t truly belong to you. If you recognize this, you will understand that your hard work, your stewardship, is meant to benefit others. It’s meant to provide for the people that work in the company and for our clients, but truly it’s to pass on the benefit of your labor to those who come after you. The men who started this company knew that. They wanted to build something that would last and be a benefit for the people who followed them.
People who live in a civil society know that they are builders making the world a better place for those around them and those that come after them. It’s the foundation of this country and why we are successful as a nation.
The man who builds things for himself always ends up with nothing.
The business owner who treats everyone around them like servants and makes no plans for the future, he goes the same way he came in: with nothing. People will fight over the scraps and leftovers of his life because everyone knows he doesn’t care about them. They will not remember him fondly, and they will only care about what leftovers of his life they can take.
Remember: everyone around you has something invested in you. You are to take that investment and manage it wisely. You are to be a blessing for those you work with and those who come after you. When you understand that you are the steward, not the owner, your work has more meaning because you are truly using it for the benefit of everyone.
Jerry Francis lives with his wife Karen in Monclova. They have been married for 32 years, and still enjoy doing things together, including boating, long walks, and vacations in various settings – Karen likes the beach and Jerry likes the mountains. They always enjoy both these things together, so vacations are never a compromise!
Jerry currently plays guitar in the praise band at Trinity Lutheran in Toledo. He has served as an elder in his church, led bible study, and he and Karen led the high school youth together for 15 years. This was one of the foundational moments of their marriage, and seeing the youth group kids grown up and living the faith they grew up with is one of the most rewarding things they have experienced.
Jerry has worked for Matrix Technologies, Inc, in Maumee, Ohio, for over 20 years, and is currently the Associate Director of the Client Solutions and Success division. His work passion has always been engineering, and he worked for a number of engineering companies before finding Matrix. He has served many roles in the company, from project engineer to project manager, and now to sales. His work has always been guided by his faith and the Martin Luther example of “What does this mean?” He believes that keeping work and marriage centered on faith will lead to good decisions and ultimately success.