By Adele Ahlberg Calhoun

 

Worship has always included sharing what God has given us with others. Justin, an early Christian teacher and martyr, wrote of the practice of stewardship within the church in The Apology of Justin the Martyr:

“The well-to-do and those who are willing give according to their pleasure, each one of his own as he wishes, and what is collected is handed over to the president [pastor], and he helps widows and orphans, and those who are needy because of sickness or for any other reason, and those who are in prison and the strangers on their journeys.”

 

Stewardship means recognizing that nothing we have really belongs to us. Everything we own belongs to God. We are simply the stewards of his wealth, his gifts, his opportunities, his houses, his cars and his computers. Sharing is to be in our DNA. Yet much of the world identifies the Christian West as consumers rather than people who are good stewards. Fifty years ago Americans consumed half as many goods and services per person as they do today. During the same amount of time the size of homes tripled. Every day we buy more clothes, appliances, cars, books, televisions, computers and so forth simply because we can (and often when we can’t). Some sociologists have named this propensity to continually purchase and consume more “affluenza.”

 

God intends for the body of Christ to battle “affluenza” and reach the world with his loving care. He does this through people who steward his wealth by sharing their resources and gifts. Stewards distinguish between building their own kingdom and building the kingdom of God.

 

The practice of stewardship will reveal what is in our heart. Stewardship shines its light into our entitlement mentality and on our need to impress others with what we have. Stewards ask hard questions:

Exodus recounts the story of the building of the tabernacle. Moses asked the people to give to this cause with their talents, gold and time. So many people wanted to give that Moses had to order the people to stop giving: “And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.” (Exodus 36:6-7). How different would it be if we had such a desire to give?

 

Stewardship poses hard questions about the unique intentions of our hearts. The questions are always aimed at us personally, and we cannot read the heart of another. So let us refrain from judging others’ choices and attend to God’s question, “Are you doing all I would have you do with what I have given you?”