Generous Stewardship
Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done. – Proverbs 19:17, NIV
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:
“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;
their righteousness endures forever.”
Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. – 2 Corinthians 9:6-11, NIV
“I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty.
“But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’
“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.
“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’
“In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. – Malachi 3:6-10, NIV
“How much should I give to the church?” it’s an honest question I’ve been asked as a pastor more than once. For most of my life, I heard the general prescription that “tithing” was the answer. Tithing being generally described as giving 10% of everything you earn to God via the local church. And while I am not saying that is wrong, I would say its wrongheaded. For we can tend to think of tithing like a tax on our money. If I make $10, I owe God $1. Your math’s not wrong but your starting premise is. The whole $10 belongs to God. He’s merely made you a manager of that money. Generosity should be our guide not some percentage. As an aside, most Old Testament scholars don’t agree that the “tithe and offerings” of Malachi 3 are 10% (some calculate 12% others as high as 20%[i]). Further, as members of the New Covenant (Testament) people of God tithing is not required of us. What is required is generosity as stewards. Does that mean that 10% giving to the local church is wrong? No. Neither is it dogmatic. Our job is to look upon the sum total of all that God has given us and to ask, with an open hand, “How should I invest what You’ve given me in your Kingdom?” As it goes, there are some helpful things about setting a percentage as a starting point in your giving, mainly so that greed has less pull on your soul. Further, I would urge you to think beyond giving to the local church and to remember the poor, missions, and the variety of opportunities around you that invite you to be generous. “You can’t out give God” is a truism that I often hear among church goers when the topic of giving comes up. And I don’t disagree. In fact, that is the premise of generous stewardship. God’s generosity should inform and encourage my generosity. Jesus didn’t have large sums of money that He gave to the Temple but, no one can second guess His giving lifestyle. He is the definition of generosity upon which we are to model our own. There is one final Bible passage I want to leave you with, like our text on Sunday it is from Luke’s Gospel. In Luke 21, we have an account of Jesus observing giving (some of it we can assume quite large sums). His praise though does not go to a ‘mega-donor’ but to a widow who’s generosity toward God was unmatched.
While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins.
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.” – Luke 21:1-4, NLT
On these verses, Marshall comments, “…what matters is not the amount that one gives but the amount that one keeps for oneself.” The reality is that this widow gave all she had. To do so required that she have an assurance that God would care for her needs. And while there is much more going on in this passage, what ought to strike us is how Jesus quantifies her giving over and against those who gave far more from an accounting perspective. Finally, notice how this widow’s gift is Jesus-like giving. He gave all He had. As did His heavenly Father. Let us be generous stewards of all our resources even as we keep our hearts overflowing with gratitude for God’s indescribable gift!
[i] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/7-reasons-christians-not-required-to-tithe/