Stewardship Isn't a Subcategory of the Christian Life

The question of “how much is enough?” plagues many people in many ways. The American way is a never-ending accumulation mentality (sometimes consciously, sometimes unconsciously) as if the bumper sticker “He who dies with the most toys wins” is true. For many the “how much is enough?” question is just a little more than I have, creating a never-ending life of accumulation. Or, let me take care of myself and then out of the excess, I will be generous.

For the Christian, that is perhaps faulty thinking. After all, do we really believe it is all God’s in the first place? That is, has God given us all we have, or, am I simply a steward of all God has entrusted to me and therefore, I have no entitlement to the assets I manage for the Owner? Accordingly, the appropriate question may not be “how much should I give?” but instead, “how much should I keep?” And so, once we get off the treadmill of accumulation and realize its futility, we can begin to focus on the contentment and blessing that comes from God for living a life of generosity and recognizing that God, in fact, does own it all.

A few reminders:

It is estimated that 15% of everything Jesus said as recorded in Scripture relates to money and possessions, more than His teachings on heaven and hell combined. Why? Because there is a fundamental connection between our spiritual lives and how we think about and handle money. God sees our faith and finance as inseparable. Do we really believe God owns it all?
Jesus did not say “don’t store up treasures.” Instead, he said, “don’t store up treasures on earth, but do store up treasures in heaven.” Randy Alcorn stated it so well in his Treasure Principle: You can’t take it with you – but you can send it on ahead. “It” is God’s after all!
Again using a Randy Alcorn principle, stewardship isn’t a subcategory of the Christian life. Stewardship is the Christian life. God has entrusted to us life, time, talent, money, possessions, family, friendships, etc. What are we doing with those things he has entrusted to us? Remember, it’s all God’s in the first place.
Perhaps the greatest deterrent to our giving is the illusion that earth is our home. Do we consider our home here on earth or in heaven? Where we choose to store our treasures depends largely on where we believe our home resides (and whose it is in the first place!)
Christians who did most for the present world were those who thought the most of the next world (e.g., William Wilberforce, Mother Theresa). Only the Word of God and the souls of people will last. Martin Luther said “I have held many things in my hands and I have lost them all. But whatever I have placed in God’s hands, I still possess.”

It doesn’t mean living this way is always easy. Our secular world attempts to drive us in other directions. My wife and I have purposed to give all we have away and as much as we can while we are still living. That has caused us to give away all our income and increasing amounts of our wealth. We have given a generous, but not an overwhelming, amount to our children. Our plan is that Uncle Sam gets nothing because it’s all God’s in the first place.

The Christian community should be filled with people who set a cap on their lifestyle, giving away everything above that amount. We need to draw a line and stop accumulating beyond that. Give away everything else. The models are few and far between, but those who live this way are truly God’s choicest servants and are most blessed often in this life, but certainly in the next. De-clutter your life. Trade up. Re-allocate your time, talent, and treasury to be consistent with God’s values, earning God’s commendation, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”