Does Stewardship ≠ Joy?
Is it possible to experience joy while carrying the responsibility of stewardship?
Summarized Transcript from the Video Above
Can a Steward Be Joyful?
Is it okay to enjoy what you’re responsible for stewarding?
That’s the question I’ve been wrestling with lately.
As someone who naturally leans toward guilt and responsibility, I tend to think of stewardship as a weighty assignment—something to be carefully managed, always watched over by the One who gave it. In my mind, I picture God handing me something important, then stepping back with arms crossed and a furrowed brow, ready to track my every misstep.
But is that really the picture Scripture gives us?
In this post, I want to explore that question by looking at:
3 positive examples of joyful stewards
1 negative example
And the thread that connects them all
The Garden Was a Gift—Not a Grind
Let’s begin where Scripture does: in a garden.
In Genesis 2:8–9, God creates Eden—full of trees that are “pleasing to the eye and good for food.”
He doesn’t drop Adam into a desert of duty. He gives him a home bursting with beauty and abundance.
In Genesis 2:15, it says:
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”
That’s stewardship.
This was purpose-filled, life-giving work. Cultivating what God had already called good.
And then we read in Genesis 2:25:
“Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.”
That’s the Bible’s way of saying they were complete, whole, and likely joyful.
Fast forward to the New Testament:
In 1 Timothy 6:17, Paul writes that God “richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”
Not just for use. Not just for giving away.
But for enjoyment—as a reflection of His goodness.
A Park Ranger’s Paycheck: Awe and Wonder
We see this same dynamic in the real world, too.
Take Shelton Johnson, a long-serving ranger at Yosemite National Park. He once said:
“I facilitate astonishment. I didn’t join the Park Service for money; I get paid in gasps.”
Johnson isn’t the source of the beauty. He’s not trying to own it. He’s simply pointing people toward it—and finding deep joy in the process.
That’s the heart of a joyful steward.
In fact, across so many stories—from national park rangers to art conservators and even to George Washington at Mount Vernon—we see the same pattern again and again.
The Common Threads of Joyful Stewards
So what do these joyful stewards have in common?
They want others to experience the joy they’ve felt
They carry a deep sense of responsibility, not out of fear, but out of reverence
They know they’re not the star of the story
And most importantly—they recognize the source of the thing they’re caring for
They don’t hoard it. They don’t try to possess it.
They hold it with open hands, knowing it’s not really theirs in the first place.
The Fearful Steward
Contrast that with the parable Jesus tells in Matthew 25.
The third servant says this about the master:
“I knew you were a hard man…”
So what does he do?
He buries the gift. He hides it. He’s paralyzed by fear—and completely misses the point of stewardship.
His view of the master was wrong, and that shaped his entire approach.
So, Can a Steward Be Joyful?
Yes. But only if we see it rightly.
Joyful stewardship isn’t about control.
It’s about connection.
We find joy when we:
Recognize the source of what we’ve been given
Point others to its beauty
And hold it with open hands, not clenched fists
Because what you’ve been entrusted with isn’t just a responsibility to bear—it’s a gift to enjoy and a glory to share.
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Ahhhh, I love the story about the Yosemite park ranger and the bit about how good stewards want people to join with them in mutual enjoyment of beauty, etc.