What do you believe about stewardship? Part 1
Spoiler alert: this is one of my most embarrassing ministry moments!
About thirty years ago, I was attending my first meeting with state convention stewardship leaders. After hearing presentations on various stewardship programs to offer to our churches, one of the more seasoned leaders asked me, “So, Stan, what are you going to do to help your churches in the area of stewardship?”
Confidently I replied, “I am going to pick one of those programs and promote it!” My seasoned friend nailed me in the middle of my chest with his index finger and said, “No! No! No! You have to realize that whatever you attach your name to, people will think you really believe it. What do you believe about stewardship?”
A theology of stewardship
I couldn’t retreat from that conversation fast enough. I realized that I had never formulated my theology of stewardship. My pattern had been (like many other pastors) to preach an annual sermon on tithing, and that was it. What did I believe about stewardship?
That encounter started a twenty-year journey of grappling with the meaning of stewardship beyond a simple sermon about the importance of tithing. In this article I will highlight the first key truth I discovered: God’s ownership.
The concept of God as owner of all creation is expressed throughout the Bible (See Psalms 24:1 and 97:5, Isaiah 54:5 and 1 Corinthians 10:26). Ownership can be examined from two perspectives. First, God is owner because He is the maker of all things. Second, He is owner because we are made in His image.
God’s ownership as Maker
God’s ownership as maker includes two elements: possession and power. Deuteronomy 10:14 tells us that the “heavens, the earth and everything in it” belong to God. It is His. Deuteronomy 8:18 reminds us even our ability to earn an income is a gift from God. God empowers us to use His creation.
These truths should lead us to ask ourselves several questions:
How does reflecting on God as Maker impact my understanding of care for His creation?
Have I covertly excluded certain aspects of my life or my world from the sovereignty of God?
Are there certain people or groups of people that I may too easily exclude from the love and care of God?
Do I need to be reminded that even my ability to earn a living is part of the ownership of God expressed through His power?
God’s ownership as Image Giver
The ownership of God is also expressed in our identity. We were made by God “in His likeness and image” (Gen. 1:26).
It is clear that men and women were made as the creation of God with the intention of being a reflection of the character and personality of God the Creator. We are intended to be a reflection of our Source.
Application
The understanding of God as the Owner of everything because He made it all and He made men and women specifically in His image has radical implications on what it means to be a steward. When I began to come to grips with the implications of what God as Owner means, it made my paltry appeal for people to tithe a very limited and shallow expression of my role as a steward.
Spend some time reflecting through the lens of stewardship these two simple truths:
I am the creation of God.
I am made in the image of God.
Be sure to journal insights or promptings for the Lord through your reflection.
Stay tuned for a follow-up article in which I will discuss what it means to be a steward.
Stanley Smith serves as the interim church growth team leader for the Baptist Convention of New England.