I had some friends who had the cutest puppy I ever saw. He was good-natured, easy to have around children, not a “barker” that would get on your nerves. Wonderful little dog. However, the time came when the pup’s nature changed; at times he suddenly exhibited signs of anger and could not be trusted around children. Consequently, the family decided they could no longer have that dog in their home.
Throughout all my 40 years of pastoral ministry the subject of stewardship was presented intentionally in the month of November as the church prepared to deal with the budget for the next year. In those 40 years I pastored some wonderful people in every congregation I served, just like so many wonderful people at Resurrection Lutheran. However, in the first years of my ministry as a young pastor, I was caught off guard when some of those good-natured people turned rather vicious, just like my friends’ puppy. They did not want to hear anything about money in my sermons. Why? “Because pastors should not be talking about money; that should be left to lay people.” Some said my reason for talking about money was simply to increase my salary. Yes, they did act somewhat like the good-natured puppy that suddenly turned vicious and showed his teeth.
What is it that can make us so angry when we hear words about money in the church? The word “stewardship” refers to management, not ownership. What we are taught in the Scriptures is that we do not own one thing since everything we have is a gift of God. There is no such thing as a “self-made” person in this world. All we are and all we have is a gift of God. We can work ever so hard to earn a living but in the end we are not the owners of our money and property; we are the managers, stewards, if you will! It is a wonderful word whose purpose is to help us be responsible, not to make us angry.
Stewardship is not about money! Stewardship is about me, as a manager of God’s gifts. All through the scriptures we are told to return to the Lord a portion of our earnings as an offering to thank God for what he has given us and as a reminder of the source of the gift. This is a hard pill for us to swallow until we become awake to the fact that we do not own a thing, we are the managers, stewards, of God’s gifts to us. Responsible stewardship is not just throwing some cash in the offering basket as it passes us on Sunday morning. It is deciding ahead of time what portion of our income we want to return to the Lord as a thank offering. It is our own choice because we do not stand under the law condemned. St. Paul writes, “The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:6-7). If you have not made that choice I do encourage you to decide as a family and discuss what percentage you choose to give. I found that once I made my decision, the sting of giving was gone. I was just giving what I had already decided was to be my return gift to the Lord. You see, stewardship is not about money! Stewardship is about me!
Written by: Pastor Ron Freimark
