The Difference Between Stewardship and Sovereignty When It Comes to AI
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the language we use around AI. “Master it.” “Control it.” “Dominate your workflow.” There’s this underlying assumption that you’re supposed to be in charge, that AI is a tool for you to wield however you want. And maybe that works if you don’t believe in anything bigger than yourself.
But if you’re someone who believes God is sovereign over your life, your work, and your calling, then the way you approach AI has to be different. The real question becomes: “How do I steward AI?” And that’s a completely different posture than trying to master it.
What Sovereignty Actually Means
Sovereignty means absolute authority. Complete control. When we talk about God’s sovereignty, we’re talking about His authority over everything - creation, time, outcomes, all of it. He’s powerful, and He’s in charge.
So when you operate like YOU’RE sovereign over AI, you’re positioning yourself as the ultimate authority. You decide how it gets used. You decide what’s acceptable. You’re the one in control.
That might sound empowering. But it’s also exhausting. Because if you’re sovereign, then everything depends on you. Every decision. Every outcome. Every risk. It’s all on your shoulders.
And more importantly, it’s spiritually backwards. You can’t claim God is sovereign over your life and then operate like you’re sovereign over your tools. One of those has to give.
What Stewardship Actually Means
Stewardship is different. A steward manages something that belongs to someone else. They’re entrusted with resources, but they don’t own them. They’re accountable to someone higher.
When you steward AI, you’re acknowledging that your skills, your time, your influence, your resources - none of that actually belongs to you. It all belongs to God. And AI is just another resource you’ve been given to manage well. That changes everything.
Because now you’re asking “What does God want me to do with this?” And that leads to a very different workflow.
What This Looks Like in Practice
I’ll be honest - I didn’t start using AI this way. I started using it the way everyone else does. I wanted it to make me faster, more productive, and more efficient. I wanted to leverage it for growth and scale and all the things you’re supposed to want when you’re building online.
And I did get faster. I did get more productive.
But I also started to notice something. The more I leaned on AI, the less I was leaning on discernment. Automation replaced prayer. And efficiency crowded out the space I needed for Holy Spirit to actually lead.
I was operating from sovereignty, and it was making me spiritually lazy.
So I had to change how I use AI, and now my whole workflow looks different.
Prayer comes first. Before I use AI for anything significant, I pray. Not a long prayer. Just a simple check-in. “God, is this something I should hand off? Or is this something You want me to do myself?” Sometimes the answer is yes, use AI. Sometimes the answer is no, this requires your presence. I don’t always like the answer, but I’ve learned to listen.
AI doesn’t make my decisions. It can analyze data, suggest options, and show me patterns I might have missed. But it doesn’t get to decide. I decide. And before I decide, I ask God for wisdom. That’s stewardship.
There are parts of my work that AI will never touch. Discernment. Anything involving spiritual counsel. Anything where someone needs to hear directly from me. I don’t care how good the AI gets - some things require a human who’s accountable to God.
I also audit my own use regularly. Every few weeks, I look at what I’m handing to AI and I ask myself: Am I stewarding this well? Or am I abdicating responsibility? Am I using this to create space for what matters? Or am I using it to do more of what doesn’t matter? That’s the question that keeps me honest.
The Questions I Ask Before I Automate Anything
If you want to steward AI, here are the questions I actually use:
Does this require my discernment? If yes, I don’t hand it to AI. Discernment is a spiritual gift. It can’t be automated.
What about my presence - is that what’s needed here? If someone needs to hear from me directly, AI doesn’t get to step in. I show up.
The “why” question matters too: Am I automating this to create space for what God is calling me to? Or am I automating this so I can accomplish more things in the name of striving? There’s a big difference.
Accountability check: If I handed this to AI and it went wrong, who would be accountable? If the answer is “I would,” then I need to stay close to the process. Stewardship means accountability.
And the dependency question: Is this making me more dependent on AI or more dependent on God? If I can’t do my work without AI, that’s a problem. AI should support my work, never replace my dependence on God.
Why This Matters More Than You Think
The way you use AI reveals what you actually believe about control.
If you believe you’re in control, you’ll use AI to maximize your output, scale your influence, and build your empire. And you’ll burn out. Because you will be worshiping at the altar of Self and personal sovereignty. And that is exhausting when you’re not actually sovereign.
But if you believe God is in control, you’ll approach AI completely differently. You’ll use it to create actual space in your life, not just cram more things into your calendar. You’ll use it to reduce the noise so you can focus on what He’s actually called you to do. You’ll steward it instead of trying to master it. And that builds something that lasts.
Where to Go From Here
I handle the discernment, the boundaries, and the spiritual side of AI in my content. I’ve partnered with a mentor of mine to bring you a training that handles the tactical systems and implementation.
If you want to learn the actual step-by-step frameworks - how to clone yourself, save 10-20 hours a week, and build AI-powered income streams - you should register for our free AI Revolution Secrets training. That’s where we teach the systems. But before you learn the systems, make sure you understand the posture. Because the tools don’t matter if the foundation is wrong.