TOTAL STEWARDSHIP
In all my years listening to others preach or teach on this text, the consuming focus is the one question on all our lips: should Christians pay taxes or not? I have never heard anyone address these words of Jesus: “Give to God that which is God’s.” I believe that statement of Jesus raises some very important questions for you and me. These are questions we must wrestle with if we are going to be Disciples of Christ.
The first question is, “What exactly belongs to God?” Once we have an answer to the first question, the second question becomes: how do we give that back to God?
Let’s begin …
WHAT IS GOD’S?
Most of us agree our lives belong to God. Not only is he our creator, he is also our redeemer. As the Apostle Paul says, “You were bought with a price and you are no longer your own.” But, there is more.
What about our time, our talents, our possessions? We confess with our lips these are God’s as well. But let’s get a little more specific. What about all of our wealth? What about our homes, our stocks and bonds, our successes, our businesses, our vocations, our hobbies? Do these belong to God as well? If we take the Biblical witness seriously, everything we have, everything we are, belongs to God. Why? Because everything we have and everything we are ultimately comes from God.
There are many in this world who take exception to this fact. They would boldly declare that God had nothing to do with their success, let alone their business or career. Everything they have achieved in life is purely the result of their own hard work and effort. Certainly there is some truth to this claim. No one succeeds in life by being lazy. Michael Jordan, considered the greatest basketball player ever, would have never achieved his success or status without hard work and determination.
The question is, “Where do people, like Michael, get the talents and abilities which allow them to succeed?” Do they create their talents and abilities by sheer will and effort? Or, do they hone and develop these talents and abilities naturally gifted to them?
This is what I call the “X factor,” separating the Michael Jordans and Albert Einsteins from the rest. This factor cannot be duplicated or equaled by all the hard work in the world. It is something unique and innate to these individuals alone. From where does this “X factor” come? Some say it is genetics. It starts with having the right mom and dad. But if it were solely genetics, it would stand to reason that all of Michael’s and Albert’s siblings - with equal effort and training - would be able to duplicate their accomplishments. But we know this is not so, for anyone or any family.
No, what Michael and Albert have is a ‘natural ability’, or ‘giftedness,’ which cannot be taught or trained. So where does it come from? There is only one possibility - God. The same holds true for you and me.
We must work hard to develop the gifts and abilities we are given to prosper in this world. It is God who made it possible for these gifts to exist for development. “It’s like creating an apple pie. You might be able to bake and create the World’s Best apple pie. But, if you ever want to be known as the creator of the apple pie, you must first be able to create the apple!”
We are not creators with the ability to create from nothing. We are only pro-creators. We are only able to create and develop from what God has already given. We can improve upon what we are given. We can make wonderful things. But, ultimately we can only do this with what he has first given us.
Hear those all-important words once again: Deut 8:17 “You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me."18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.”
If God is ultimately the Creator and owner of all we have, and if we accept this, it leads us to an even bigger question: How do we give back to God that which already belongs to Him? The answer: We use it for his purposes and his pleasure.
Genesis 12:1,2 “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great and you will be a blessing.”
These are the terms of the covenant relationship God enters into with Abraham. This means the terms also apply to the descendants of Abraham, the children of faith, you and me. In the terms of the covenant God promises He will bless Abraham with all he will need to be a father of a new nation: land, descendants, and a good name. In response God asks one thing of Abraham: use these blessings to be a blessing to others. What is important here is what God did not say. God did not say pick the blessings of your choice to be a blessing with, but to use all his blessings in order to be a blessing to God and this world.
The mistake we often make is thinking that when it comes to using our God-given blessings, we believe God gives us a multiple choice question. Pick and choose what you want to use. I often hear people and pastors alike say, “I don’t have to tithe my money because I give my time.” Some wealthy people with foundations say, “I don’t have to use my talents or abilities for God. I give my money.” But what God asked of Abraham, and of us, is not to pick and choose which of our many blessings we use, but to use all of them: time, talent, possessions, finances, skills, businesses, homes and the like.
Let me ask you this: On a scale of one to 10, how would you rate yourself in utilizing all of your wealth to be a blessing to God and your fellow man?” How would you be doing? How many of you would say something like, “Well, I am great in time, or great with my financial giving, but I never really give much thought to the others.” That is most of us, if not all. Why?
We could simply say such failure to use all of our blessings is due to our unwillingness or apathy. Certainly there is some truth here. But, over the years I have come to see another contributing factor to our failure to utilize all of our blessings to be a blessing. It is our inability to see how we can give our blessings back to God. In other words, what we often lack is not the desire, but the imagination and creativity for using our blessings in ways that bring blessings to God and others.
I never thought about such a possibility until I read Luke 16, The Parable of the shrewd steward. The parable is about a man destined to be fired. In order for his boss’ customers to find favor with him and give him a job, he cuts each of their debts in half. What is so perplexing is Jesus applauds this guy in the parable. Isn’t this cheating? I couldn’t figure out what Jesus was doing until I focused on these words in v.8 “For the people of this world are shrewder in dealing with their own kind than are the people of light.”
I finally realized what Jesus is applauding. He applauds the man because he is so creative in addressing his concerns. Jesus laments the people of the world are very creative and imaginative in accomplishing their own goals and purposes, but His children are far less creative in accomplishing His goals and purposes.
Isn’t he right? When we want something for ourselves we are masterminds of creativity. However, when it comes to God’s goals and purposes we show very little imagination. Let me give you an example to show you how inventive we can be when we want something.
A husband and wife are talking at the dinner table. He tells her he would like a new car. She says that she needs a new washer and dryer. The couple agrees they can’t afford both. That night, the husband tosses and turns trying to figure a way, and it hits him. The next morning, he shares his creativity with his wife: “Honey, I spent all night thinking about how I can get that new car and you can get your new washer and drier. First, we sell our car, take the $5,000, and put it in the bank. Next, we lease the new car with just $1,000 down. Then we take the rest of the money, put it in a savings account. We borrow on the saving account rather than use the credit card to buy the washer and drier because the effective interest rate is only 2% rather than the 13% for using the card. It’s like stealing money from the bank!”
We are very resourceful when it comes to ourselves. But how much time, effort, and initiative do we give trying to find new and inventive ways to use our blessings to be a blessing to God and our community?
Let me inspire you with a few wonderful stories of people who were equally resourceful in using their blessings to be God’s blessing in their walks of life. Hopefully it gives us some inspiration.
Here is story of how someone uses the blessing of their boat to become a blessing to others:
Bill was a successful Christian businessman who sold his company, enabling him to buy the boat of his dreams, a 75 ft. yacht. Upon buying the yacht, he was suddenly overcome with what I call the Christian “buyers’ blues.” We all know what it is to have “buyers’ blues.” They are pure regret for something we bought. But, this is a little different. It stems more from guilt. The guilt that maybe I was too selfish by spending so much on myself.
Bill couldn’t shake this feeling and started to wonder if maybe the Holy Spirit was telling him something. Not knowing whether it was him or the Holy Spirit creating these feelings of guilt, he started to pray about it. Days went on until one night, while praying, he gets an impression in his mind, “Use it for my glory … Use it for my glory…”
Thinking that maybe God is asking him to use the boat to serve others, Bill decided to call the local YMCA. The next day he calls and speaks with the director, and humbly asks, “Would you ever have any need of a large boat in order to take the inner city children out on the ocean to explore God’s wonderful creation?” To his surprise, the Director enthusiastically replied, “We do!”
This is living our faith in everyday life with our possessions. You don’t have to be a millionaire to do this. You need only be creative and willing.
BUT THERE IS MORE TO OUR BLESSINGS THAN JUST OUR POSSESSIONS - THERE ARE OUR HOBBIES.
A pastor friend I knew decided that for his mid-life crisis he was going to buy a Harley motorcycle! The big cruiser kind of Harley Davidson. After he bought it he began to realize a lot of his church members, as well as non-church-going friends had motorcycles. As a result, he formed a bike club so his non-church-going friends might meet his church-going friends and realize that we Christians are not all a bunch of odd ducks. We can be genuinely nice people who value others.
My friend knew there are many people who are unfamiliar with the church and will probably never walk through the front door on a Sunday morning. This is why he decided to create a back door through which non-churchgoers could experience the grace and fellowship of God’s people. His hope was that someday the experience of safe and friendly church members would lead some of the non-members to the front door of the church.
They rode to Sturgis, South Dakota for the National Harley rally. My pastor friend shared that for the most part, it was a den of iniquity. Despite this, my pastor friend and his team spent the entire week witnessing to people and even holding chapel services at one of the restaurants.
What hobbies do you have that can become a platform to reach out to others and introduce them to Christ?
HOW TO TURN A BUSINESS INTO A BLESSING TO OTHERS
A young couple owned a little restaurant in downtown Tustin called the Black Sheep Bistro. For a long time, the husband felt if he was ever going to do fulltime ministry, maybe he would need to become a chef at a Christian retreat center.
One day, this man realized ministry doesn’t only take place “out there.” In fact, ministry takes place wherever he is and didn’t have to take place in a church structure. Ministry could happen in his own business. Suddenly, he began imagining his business could provide to his community. What finally struck him was the need for an intimate place where one could make new friends, have an enjoyable time, but more importantly be known. He realized many strived for this in various clubs, but the one thing he and his wife provided cannot happen there. On a personal level, this couple was able to know their regular customers on a personal level. From this, the couple began to know their customer’s needs and joys and engage in conversation or prayer.
Being a blessing is not so much about resources, but resourcefulness. It is creatively using what God has already entrusted to each of us in the form of time, talent, relationships, homes, finances, networks, business, hobbies, and more.
Our commission is not only to respond to the needs of the world when confronted, but also to seek new ways and new means by which we creatively use the blessings God has given.
If you’re a handy-man type, use your gifts to assist the widows in your church or community. If you’re are a lawyer or accountant, volunteer some time to assist people with basic questions that to them seem overwhelming. A knowledgeable person can help put other’s problems into proper perspective and provide a course of action.
Whatever it is you have; a love for motorcycles, doing creative memories, even Nintendo, God expects you to use all your resources to be a blessing. It is not multiple choice, but total stewardship of all we are and all we have. If you believe God has chosen you to be just such a blessing, in your church, this community, or this world, I want you to say with me…
“God has blessed me” …. to be a blessing ... He has granted me a creative mind … to find creative ways … to use my blessings… to honor Him … and help my neighbor.”