Christian Stewardship

Christian stewardship is the spiritual practice of treating all of life as a trust to be managed on God’s behalf. As Psalm 24 reminds us, “the earth is the Lord’s, and all that is in it” (24:1). Stewardship is much more than what we do with our financial resources. It’s a way of understanding life and our role in it. It’s also a helpful lens through which to evaluate our priorities. Where are we directing our time, energy, and resources? As Matthew’s Gospel reminds us, “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”(6:21). 

One of my favorite Book of Common Prayer petitions is “shield the joyous.” It appears in Compline, an ancient monastic service prayed in the evening. Followers of Jesus are joyful because we know God is faithful. God has been faithful in the past, is faithful now, and will be faithful in the future. Joy is different from happiness. It is not a feeling. It doesn’t deny or gloss over suffering and sadness, but is rooted in the reality that God is faithful and will have the last word. At the end of the day, whether we want to acknowledge it or not, we are completely dependent on a trustworthy God.

In the Bible there are 2,171 references to possessions and giving, 714 references to love or loving, 371 to prayer and 272 to believing. Consumer capitalism continues to perpetuate the narrative of scarcity. There is never enough; we must continually strive to earn and buy more. There is also a narrative of fear and inadequacy. Advertisers and influencers tell us we are not rich, thin, beautiful, or happy enough. The Christian faith claims that everything we are and have is pure gift from a generous God. We are worthy because God created and redeemed us. We don’t need to earn or buy our worthiness.
 

One mark of mature Christian spirituality is the ability to live a God-honoring life in all areas, including our finances, time, and talents or abilities. When we are inconsistent in one area, that’s often a place we can grow in faith and in our relationship with God.

During my time at St. Matthew’s, I and other leaders focused on helping members of the congregation develop a deeper relationship with Jesus. Year in and out we focused on apprenticing people into Jesus’ way through teaching spiritual practices, having people try them during the week, and sharing what they learned including what was life-giving and what was challenging the following Sunday. Over time our giving doubled. It doubled not only because of the committed and diligent work of lay leaders called to stewardship ministry, but because the people of St. Matthew’s were becoming more mature disciples of Jesus, and mature disciples of Jesus are generous.