There is nothing complicated about Christian Stewardship. It operates by a simple rule: “What God puts into your care, use it to advance the Lord’s church.”
Understandably, unbelieving family and friends will count you crazy to hold such a conviction. Even those favourably disposed toward Christianity will cringe to think that you actually believe that God takes care of those who “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).
Obviously, I am not suggesting that we all take our money and deposit it into a congregational bank account. God expects us to meet all our individual financial obligations and to make sure that we are a blessing and not a burden.
However, some Christians who have “very little” feel cursed. They do not feel that they are amongst those challenged to work with what they have been given. They especially find it difficult to believe that God will provide such “extras” during serious financial setbacks.
But trust we must and trust we can; God provides for His own!
Jesus makes stewardship absolutely personal. We may play comparison games to excuse one another, but God does not play along; God sees all, knows all, and calls each to account for His property.
We rejoice that God’s expectations will never exceed our ability to do what He wants us to do. Thus, we must do what we can with what he provides in all circumstances.
Jesus connects our use of His wealth in this world with eternal wealth in the next. He says,
“I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much” (Luke 16:9-10).
John Staiger
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