We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord,begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints—and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also. (2 Corinthians 8:1-7, ESV)
Great here we go again. Someone telling us we have to give and give more than we can. A lot of time and energy is spent in the church today talking about stewardship and stewardship we all know equals money.
Stewardship is not money. It is not the amount you give to the church, or you give to any where. It is much more than money. Stewardship is who we are as disciples. It is how we live our lives knowing that everything we have is a gift given to us by God. You see we are to be stewards of all God has give us.A steward is someone who manages or cares for what has been placed in their care. We are to manage the resources that God has given us to care for and use them in a way that forwards God’s mission.
One way to look at this is, I see the three wonderful girls I have as daughters as gifts from God, and they are a part of the resources I must steward for the betterment of God’s mission. How I raise them and teach them is all a part of my stewardship to God. It is not just about the money I have and give. It is about everything.
Paul today gives us an example of a group that has given monetarily according to their means, and then more. That is what the Hebrew Scriptures tell us about giving as well. We have to give our first fruits in our means (a tithe or 10%) and then our personal giving is over and above that. We must give from everything we have been given. And manage the rest we use for ourselves as resources for God’s mission.
So everything you do is stewardship, because every action you take has an impact on the mission of God and the spreading of His love to all of the world!
aSacredRebel 