“Stewardship is not about raising money, but about who has dominion in your life.”  “Stewardship is a measure of our spirituality!”   These are strong statements….  But then so are these attributed to Jesus:

For where your treasure is, there your heart is also. (Mt. 6:21)

No one can serve two masters….  You cannot serve God and wealth. (Mt.6:24)

But strive first of the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Mt. 6:33)

This year financial stewardship is not focused on the need to meet the church’s budget.  We don’t have one yet.  But the call to financial stewardship focuses on our need to give!

Stewardship is basically a matter of recognizing that we are created in the image of God.  This is – by nature we are givers.  Think for a moment when you have had the opportunity to be a significant giver.  Whether that was care giving, financial giving, or a gift of your time to someone else.  That is a moment when you felt most at one with the world.  You felt in sync!  That is because you were!  We are created to reflect the giving nature of our God.

Giving comes from inside.  It is not something that can be imposed from the outside.  Oh yes, we have all been told when we were kids to give someone a hug or a kiss.  We were expected to do something and we did it.  But until we learned and accepted its value, it remained an obligation.  When we discovered we really liked someone and wanted to give him or her a hug or kiss, it became an entirely different experience.  As a child or as an adult, we know the difference between obligation and giving.  It’s not that the teaching wasn’t necessary, it well may have been.  But the learning and the practice are not the same.

We have been given so much.  Just take a deep breath; go ahead take a deep breath….  It is the very source of fife.  We haven’t made it, earned it.  It is a gift of breath, from the breath of Creation itself.  Or think of being a part of a family.  All of us are connected to family somehow.  None of us came here on our own.  We are a gift, and our families are our gift whether they act like it or not.  Because we have so much, it’s hard to realize that we are recipients of abundance.  But let us reflect a moment.

If the entire population of the world consisted of 100 people the following would be true:

            67 would be poor

55 would have an annual income of less than $600

50 would be homeless or live in substandard housing

50 would be without adequate safe drinking water

            47 would be illiterate

            35 would be hungry and malnourished

 6 would be Americans and would hold 33% of the world’s income

             1 would have a college education.

Most of us did not choose to be Americans.  We were born here.  We had nothing to do with it.  Yet because of the mere accident of where we were born, we are recipients of so much.  Add to that the gift of being exposed to the Power larger than ourselves.  Jesus reminds us that not only the hairs of our head are accounted for, but even the way in which we treat one another is a concern to God.  We are to pursue the righteousness of God in our living.

We may not fully understand it, but we experience Grace in our lives.  We rightly feel good about ourselves as we know that our value as persons is not based on our accumulation of goods or the size of our bank accounts, but on the acceptance and generosity of our God.  When this awareness becomes real to us we respond with delight:

          Joy to the world, the Lord is come
          Let earth receive her King
          Let every heart prepare him room
          And heaven and nature sing.

          Joy to the world the Savior reigns,
          Let us our songs employ;
         While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
          Repeat the sounding joy!

          No more let sin and sorrows grow
          Not thorns infest the ground
          He comes to make His blessings flow
          Far as the curse is found

          He rules the world with truth and grace
          And makes the nations prove
          The glories of His righteousness
          And wonders of His love.

Yes, “Joy to the World” is our response at Christmas for we all are benefactors of God’s flowing blessings.  But “Joy to the World” is not just a Christmas reality – it is the Christian’s response to God.  The world is being transformed because of the gift at Christmas, and we are part of that transforming force.

Stewardship enables us to celebrate life as we affirm the life-giving force that has entered the world through Jesus.  Stewardship is everything you do, everything you are after you say yes to Jesus!  It is an expression of joy.  Our hearts sing because we find meaning in life and a purpose and direction for our energies, gifts and talents.  Jesus consistently challenges his hearers regarding the role of wealth and possessions.  He urges us to use them in a way that reflects the values that he taught.

But Jesus makes it clear that financial stewardship is not a legalistic obligation laid on us.  It is a matter of the heart.  Yes, money is a spiritual matter, not a financial necessity or obligation.  The use of our money says a lot about us.  It tells mare than we want to say sometimes.  For sometimes we think we will be happiest if we are financially secure, or if we have enough.  And so we begin to build bigger and bigger stock piles.  Oh, I am NOT against saving.  And I surely am not against preparing for future needs – I’m too close to retirement to think that!!!  But how much is enough?  How much do I need to share with others – with the 67% of the world’s population who are poor?

I don’t know about you, but I fight that battle frequently.  It’s not that I don’t see the poor around me, and it’s not that I don’t care.  But just what is my response to be?

Here are some principles I have found helpful if not completely satisfying.  What it might be for you I can’t say.  But I share them with the hope that they might be of use to you.

I am convinced that my life is richest when I am a giver.  That does not always mean money.  But it includes that.  And since today I am talking about financial stewardship, we will focus on that aspect of stewardship.  So to assure that I live life to the fullest, I put financial giving at the top of the list.  It’s a priority. It is not what is left over at the end of the paycheck.  We set aside our giving first, then address the rest of our needs.  Yes, giving is a need, not a “have to”. 

Second, Proportionate giving is praised by Jesus in the Gospels and spelled out more clearly in the Hebrew Scriptures.  Jan and I choose to live on 80% of our income.  Ten percent is our commitment to the church, and ten per cent is set aside for savings - both short term and long term savings.  We have not arrived at the 40% Zacheus gave, maybe some day.  There is a family in Milwaukee who gives 90% and lives on 10%. I don’t know what you need to give, but I do know giving is necessary for you spiritual growth.

Third, whenever we give from the heart it is risky.  Do we dare to trust our heart?  If we give from our surplus, it is not risky.  We can calculate what we can “afford” and  take  away  the  danger.  Do  we  put  our faith in our bank balance, our earning power?  Proportionate giving can mean a challenge to our spending habits, our life style.  We may not be able to afford some of the things we would like.  Will we be happy if we can’t do or have some of the things we have set our hearts on?  Yes, financial stewardship can be risky, especially if you have never given a tithe before. 

I know a church that encourages its members to tithe, but has promised its members that if the tithe causes a financial hardship, they may have a refund.  No one has claimed a refund yet.  In Malachi 3 we are boldly challenged “put me to the test”, says God, by bringing in the full tithe and see if I will not pour out blessings upon you. 

Finally, financial stewardship is being consistent.  Financial stewardship is a regular, purposeful, consistent behavior.  It is not governed by emotional appeals.  It is not determined by the number of dollars, but by a decision made in faithful response to God.  Unfortunately studies have shown that the more the income, the less the percentage is given.  One would think it could be the other way around, but it isn’t.  But the consistency flows from the direction of the heart.  Where you heart is there your treasure will be also.  So in the end, financial stewardship is a matter of the heart!  Joy to the World!