The Discipline of Stewardship
Most Christians spend time and money as if it was their own. However, we forget that if you’ve surrendered your life to Christ then you recognize that you have surrendered your claim to everything you thought you owned and have given it to Christ. He has hence made you a steward of those resources. That means that you must use those resources as he directs. To do otherwise is to embezzle that which belongs to God.
Stewardship is a way of life. It’s more than just putting a check in the offering plate. As such, we’d be hard pressed to cover every aspect, so we’ll stick to the clock and the dollar. It’s foolish to think that God would care about how we spend money but not show concern for what we do with our time.
Time is infinitely more valuable than money. Time is money, but money can’t buy more time. A major talking point with Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount was how we spend our time. Do we spend it trying to collect things – TVs, farm equipment – just like the world around us, or do we invest our time in the eternal things of God?
There are many good things to spend time on, but the problem with good is that it’s the enemy of the best. We must be intentional about how we spend our time. Many Christians have blinded themselves with the good things in life and have thus sacrificed the best that God has planned.
But stewardship is about more than time. It also involves money. It’s something we don’t want to talk about in church, but it’s something which many people seem to value more than their time. I’m sure I don’t need to give you another sermon about God’s position on money. But in order to keep from the love of money, here are a few things to keep in mind.
First, it is a trust. It doesn’t belong to you. It is something God has entrusted to you to invest on his behalf. The idea is that he is investing in you and intends to get a return on his investment. You are but a steward of the Lord’s money.
Second, it is a tool. Its purpose is to be used for other purposes. God expects that we will use the tools he gives us to accomplish his goals and further his kingdom. Like a rope thrown into the water to save someone from drowning, the rope is not the real value, it is the life being saved. The same is true of money.
Third, it is a test. God often gives us something of lesser value to see if he can trust us with something greater. If he cannot trust us with something as fleeting as money, why should he trust us with things of eternal value? God can give you as much money as he wants or leave you with little. If he cannot trust you to make good decisions with little, he certainly can’t trust you to make good decisions with much.
Finally, it is a thermometer. How we spend our money reveals the temperature of our spiritual lives. Now let’s just take the gloves off for a moment. If you do not, at the very least, tithe, if you are not investing at least a portion of the money God has entrusted to you into His eternal causes, you need to take a long hard look at your life through the lens of scripture to see where your heart stands before God. It may sound harsh, but Jesus makes it clear that you cannot serve God and money. Stewardship is a way of life. You cannot separate time and money from the rest of your spiritual life. The clock and the dollar don’t lie. They are tangible evidences of where your heart really is. They tell the story of your life and your values.