Stewardship at the Cost of Discipleship:
One of the most difficult balances I have encountered in life is the balance between discipleship and stewardship. I think stewardship has sometimes been an excuse to be greedy, after all, we wouldn’t want someone to have to pay our way when we are too old to work so it can be tempting to avoid opportunities to help others in the meantime.
Discipleship at the Cost of Stewardship:
Then there is the other extreme. You can claim to be such a devoted disciple that you are completely irresponsible with your money and make absolutely no provision for how you will pay your next month’s living expenses. That would be poor stewardship. Our discipleship includes the call to surrender but how much? Everything. How? Do we give so much we are poor stewards?
The Question:
I think there is a question we can ask to be a disciple and a good steward: “Could I give it away?” If you feel there are some things you just couldn’t do without, you just couldn’t get rid or or give it away, that you just couldn’t make it without _______ then your discipleship may be trumped. The answer to that question gets to the heart of our stewardship, that it’s all God’s anyway. It reflects an attitude of surrender. It also gets to the heart of where our devotion lies, “am I more devoted to God’s call or these things…”
How have you found the balance?
0 Responses
Matt,
Excellent post.
In the O.T. the Israelites gave God first 10% of everything. I think as disciples of Jesus Christ and Christians we should give God first. When we sit down we get paid, and we are paying our bills for the month. God gets first. Does he get 10%? IS that good enough? 20%? How much do we tip a waiter in a restraunt now days?
How much do we spend on entertainment?
I believe as disciples everything in our life should be centered around Him. He should get our first fruits. He should get the best. He knows our hearts. The poor widow is an example for us. As a minister even though I am getting paid by the church, I give to God. I give back for what he has done for me. I give back because of who I am in Him, a disciple, a Christian. I want the good news to spread to foreign places. I want God to be glorified in other ministries. I want to give my best to God not because I am a minister but because I am a Christian and have that relationship with him. What do we give? Depend on the person. Is it your best? God wants your best. In the way we live and the way we give.
You’ve read my heart these past days every time I think of my “Financial Peace”
As a man that has nearly no control over money in my life, I’ve started taking a course in Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey, and I am determined to do VERY well with it. Now, this in no way implies that I will neglect my walk with the Lord (discipleship). I MUST keep daily contact with Christ, and reflect him to men on Earth! But since I’ve started taking the course and putting it into practice I’ve found myself having confidence in stewardship; and also, in my Lord. I am following practical biblical advice, and God honors His word. And I’m giving! It’s the first thing on my list to take out. Is it 10%? No, but it’s sacrificial for what my family makes and has to spend. God gives grace, and it’s one of the things I have found that makes God so great, lovely, and righteous. I have started seein my new found stewardship as a new level of worship in my walk with God. God Bless bro! Jeremy
God certainly does want our best and not the leftovers. In a sense he wants it all and part of that is being a steward of what we possess. I have worked through the Dave Ramsey material and seen him in person and it is VERY helpful. He addresses the stewardship side of this very well.
I am thankful that we were able to get rid of our credit cards completely two years ago. Getting rid of those high interests rates can really get rid of alot of stress. David Ramsey talks about that quite a bit. Matt you are so right on and I think the church could benifit from his seminars and how to get of debt classes. David Ramsey is awesome!
Thanks for your blog 🙂 do check out http://www.puresearch.org.uk for great Christian Websites 🙂