The Cycle of Stewardship by Tim Tassopoulos

Stewardship isn’t a one-time decision. It’s an ongoing way of life—a cycle that begins with gratitude, moves through faithful growth, and leads to generosity.

Tim Tassopoulos, Former President and Chief Operating Officer of Chick-fil-A, has seen that cycle at work throughout his life and career. During his decades with the company, he helped shape a culture known not only for operational excellence but also for servant leadership, hospitality, and investing in people.

For Tassopoulos, faithful stewardship starts with a foundational truth: God owns it all.

That includes our finances, but it extends much further. Our abilities, relationships, opportunities, time, experiences, and even the challenges we encounter are all things God has entrusted to us. Stewardship is the process of receiving those gifts gratefully, developing them faithfully, and ultimately using them for the good of others and the glory of God.

Stewardship Begins With Gratitude

The first step in the cycle is gratitude.

Before we can faithfully manage what God has given us, we must recognize that it came from Him in the first place. Gratitude shifts our perspective from ownership to stewardship.

That contrast is clear in Jesus’ parable of the rich fool in Luke 12. The man repeatedly speaks of “my crops,” “my barns,” and “my grain.” His mistake wasn’t simply having an abundant harvest. He had forgotten the One from whom his abundance came.

The parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14–30 offers another picture. The first two servants received different amounts, yet both faithfully put what they had been entrusted with to work. Their focus wasn’t on comparing what they received but on faithfully managing it.

Gratitude allows us to do the same. And it requires intentionality. Tassopoulos encourages making gratitude part of the daily rhythm of life through prayer, Scripture, and consciously recognizing God’s provision.

That gratitude doesn’t have to be limited to the things we naturally consider blessings. We can thank God for relationships, resources, and good health, but also recognize that challenges and opportunities can become gifts He uses to shape us.

When we begin with gratitude, we are better prepared to steward whatever God places in our hands.

Growth Requires Humility

Gratitude naturally leads to the next stage of stewardship: growth.

If God has entrusted us with abilities, relationships, opportunities, knowledge, or financial resources, faithful stewardship asks how we can develop those gifts—not merely for our own benefit, but so they can increasingly serve others.

That requires becoming a lifelong learner. Tassopoulos puts it simply: without humility, there is no growth.

Learning begins by acknowledging that we don’t know everything. We need the wisdom, experience, correction, and perspective of others. That may come through books, mentors, colleagues, Scripture, or simply reflecting carefully on our own experiences.

The more we learn, the more we may be able to contribute. For Tassopoulos, one practical expression of that commitment was something he called a library day.

Throughout his career at Chick-fil-A, he intentionally reserved one day each month to leave the office and work from a public library. Away from the distractions of the corporate support center—and with less opportunity to constantly check his phone—he could study, evaluate his schedule, reflect on recent experiences, and look ahead to the next 90 days.

Those days became opportunities for restoration, reflection, and refocusing.

When Tassopoulos became president of Chick-fil-A and knew the demands on his time would increase considerably, he made what might seem like a counterintuitive decision: he added a second library day each month.

Greater responsibility meant he needed more time to think, not less.

There is a lesson there for all of us. Growth rarely happens accidentally. Whether we are developing our finances, our professional abilities, our relationships, or our spiritual lives, we need margin to learn, reflect, and make wise decisions.

Generosity Is About More Than Money

Growth, however, isn’t the destination. The purpose of developing what God has entrusted to us is not simply to accumulate more. Growth creates greater opportunities to serve.

That leads to generosity. 

Financial giving is certainly part of generosity, but biblical generosity is much larger. We can be generous with our time, our attention, our knowledge, our relationships, our encouragement, and our willingness to invest in other people.

Tassopoulos saw that modeled repeatedly by Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy and the Cathy family. Their generosity has included financial giving, but also mentoring future leaders, investing in employees and communities, and creating organizations designed to serve others.

That reflects Chick-fil-A’s corporate purpose, developed during a difficult period for the company in the early 1980s:

“To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us and to have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.”

Notably, that purpose says nothing about restaurant growth, revenue, or the number of chicken sandwiches sold. It centers on glorifying God, practicing faithful stewardship, and influencing people for good.

Business success became something to steward rather than the ultimate goal.

Truett Cathy’s 10-10-10 Principle

Truett Cathy also communicated stewardship through a simple financial principle Tassopoulos remembers well: Give 10%, save 10%, and work 10% harder.

The order mattered. Giving came first, reinforcing that generosity should be intentional rather than something we practice only when there happens to be money left over. Saving acknowledged the importance of preparing wisely for both present needs and the future. And working harder reflected Cathy’s continual challenge to give your best effort.

That philosophy was connected to another biblical principle that shaped Cathy’s life. Proverbs 22:1 says:

“A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.”

Reputation, integrity, and faithfulness mattered more than financial success.

That same mindset can also be seen in Chick-fil-A’s emphasis on “second-mile service,” drawn from Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:41: “And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.”

Going beyond what is required is another expression of generosity.

Generosity Brings Us Back to Gratitude

This is why stewardship is best understood as a cycle rather than a checklist.

We receive what God provides with gratitude. We faithfully grow and develop what He has entrusted to us. Then we generously share the fruit of that growth with others.

And when we experience the privilege of giving, serving, mentoring, encouraging, or investing in someone else, we have another reason to be grateful.

Then, the cycle begins again.

That perspective changes the way we think about money and everything else God places in our hands. The question is no longer simply, “How much can I accumulate?” Instead, we begin asking, “How faithfully can I manage what God has entrusted to me?”

Stewardship begins with gratitude, grows through faithful action, and comes full circle in generosity. And as we continue that cycle throughout our lives, the resources God provides become opportunities to glorify Him and bless the people around us.

On Today’s Program, Rob Answers Listener Questions:

• I’m turning 65 but plan to keep working and stay on my employer’s HSA-eligible health plan. Can I delay Medicare enrollment and continue contributing to my HSA, or do I need to enroll at 65?
• I need significant home repairs, may have water damage or mold, and also have about $8,000 in credit card debt. I don’t want to refinance because my mortgage rate is 3%. Would a HELOC be a reasonable way to cover the repairs and debt, or should I consider another option?

Resources Mentioned:

• Faithful Steward: FaithFi’s Quarterly Magazine (Become a FaithFi Partner)
• Christian Credit Counselors
• FaithFi Field Guide: How Much Money is Enough? 
• Our Ultimate Treasure: A 21-Day Journey to Faithful Stewardship by Rob West
• Wisdom Over Wealth: 12 Lessons from Ecclesiastes on Money
• Look At The Sparrows: A 21-Day Devotional on Financial Fear and Anxiety
• Rich Toward God: A Study on the Parable of the Rich Fool
• Find a Certified Kingdom Advisor® (CKA)
• FaithFi App

Remember, you can call in to ask your questions every weekday at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. You can also visit FaithFi.com to connect with our online community and partner with us as we help more people live as faithful stewards of God’s resources.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.