For those who have been attending Westlake on Sundays or those who are watching them via the website once the sermon is posted, you know we have been looking at stewardship. We will look at it one more week (this coming Sunday), but I wanted to send out a practical help during this series. First, we will look at the definition of a steward. The Greek word is “oikonomos” which means ruler or manager of a house. A great definition as given by Chuck Swindoll is, “using God-given resources to accomplish God-given goals.” We also stated in the series that stewardship while it does refer to money, doesn’t only refer to money. It refers to managing our money, our time, and our talents in a way that honors God. This Sunday, Lord willing, we will look at how to be a good steward of our time. However, in this post we will examine what the New Testament teaches with regards to our money. For that we will examine 1 Corinthians 16:2 and 2 Corinthians 9:6-7.
The first principle we see in 1 Corinthians 16:2 is that we are to give systematically. 1 Corinthians 16:2 says, “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.” Notice they gave on the first day of the week. Does that mean you must give every Sunday? That’s not what we get from the verse. What we get is that we must have a plan to give. Most people in today’s time get paid every two weeks, some get paid every week, and others get paid once a month. Whatever your situation is, plan to give accordingly.
The second principle we get in 1 Corinthians 16:2 is that we are to give bountifully or you could say sacrificially. Notice it says “as God hath prospered him.” We may not be rich by the world’s standards, but we cannot argue that God has not blessed us. The tithe is 10 percent. That is our minimum that should be offered to God. The Old Testament as well as Jesus taught that that ten percent should be the first ten percent we receive. One of the biggest objections many people have to tithing is they say that they don’t have enough money to live on. I do acknowledge that times are certainly tough in this country for many people. However, I also know that God owns it all and He can supply our every need (see Phil. 4:19). Two thoughts come into my mind dealing with this. First we are told to seek the kingdom of God first (Mt. 6:33). Secondly, this is where our faith comes in. By giving to God first, we are saying “God I trust you to honor Your word to provide for my family as I honor You.” You can never out give God, and God has never come up short. A warning however, we should not use God as our ATM. We should not think that if we put money in, that He has to give money back. Another caution, by giving to God as we should, it might mean that we have to make some changes to our lifestyle. We will have to distinguish between our needs and our wants, which inherently means we might have to give some things up. But if we are honest, those are things that we can live with out, even if we don’t really think we can or we don’t want to.
The final principle we see is found in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” We see our first two points here in these verses, but that last part of the verse gives us the third principle. The third principle in practical stewardship is we are to give cheerfully. Our giving is not out of necessity, because God doesn’t need our money. Our giving should be out of our gratitude for what God has done for us. God sent His Son to die in our place that we might be forgiven and have salvation. He continues to provide for us, love us, protect us, and bless us in other ways. We are to give from a grateful heart. It is our way of saying “Lord I know you don’t need this, I know I can’t out give You, but I just want to give You back something to show how much I appreciate what You have done for me.” One final note, I saw this in a book I was reading and church’s have even used it on their signs before, “God loves a cheerful giver, but he will accept it from a grouch as well.” May we all be good stewards of what God has blessed us with to demonstrate our love for Him.
By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him