Grace Baptist Church, Nokomis, IL.

Text:

Financial stewardship is about more than giving to the church. We’re to be generous toward the people around us. Financial stewardship is about more than money, too. We’re to be generous with the things that we have. We’re to use our things for the glory of God, rather than purely for our pleasure. We’re to consider the needs of others, and sacrifice our wants for their needs.

“For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. As it is written, ‘Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.’ ” (2 Corinthians 8:13-15)

We should note right off the bat that God is not always calling us to give up all that we have (v. 13a). God certainly does this with some people, as He did with the rich young ruler (Mark 10:21). Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

As a result, many Christians feel guilty for having nice things. This command was given to a specific person in a specific context. The issue isn’t how much stuff you have. The issue is where your treasure lies. Do you treasure Christ above all things? Christ has given us all things. Accept all these things from God, and use them to glorify Him.

So the Bible isn’t telling you to sell all your stuff so you can give it all to those in need. Paul wanted to be clear that the point is not to meet needs and make yourself miserable. No, we aren’t to give up what our family needs in order to supply the needs of others. That would truly be a sacrifice. But it would also be poor stewardship. God has called us to care for our families, not neglect them. In the same way, God has called us to care for ourselves, not to neglect ourselves. It’s not a sin to have nice things. But we must evaluate why we have those things, and how we use those things.

Share out of the abundance of God’s blessings so that we will all have what all we need (v. 13b-14). The Bible gives us many examples of this kind of generosity. Consider the early church, who pooled their resources and gave to anyone who had a need (Acts 2:45). “Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.” Consider the boy who gave his lunch, which Jesus blessed and multiplied to feed thousands (John 6:9-13). “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

In order to do display this kind of generosity, we must recognize that all things are from God. How can you share your resources with others?

It’s interesting that when this passage quotes the Old Testament, it’s not about to giving, but about gathering (v. 14). Many people don’t have enough to give to others because they’ve gathered too much. Many people don’t give to others because they don’t trust God to provide. The original context of the Old Testament quotation was that the Israelites were to depend upon God for their food. Each day they were to gather what they needed for that day.

It seems that we often have a hoarding problem. We gather and gather and gather, and in our gathering we don’t trust God to provide. God’s not against us preparing for our future. But we need to balance our desires for comfort and security with the needs of others. This isn’t just an issue of equality in terms of wealth and possessions.

The real question is whether you trust God to provide. Unbelievers watch you, Christian. They want to see how you’re different. They want to find meaning in life. They want to find the purpose for which they were created. If they observe that we find joy in our stuff, they will go away and think we have no more purpose in life than they do, and they will search elsewhere for their purpose. But if we live radically different, being generous with our possessions, finding our joy in Christ, sharing God’s blessings liberally, they will see we have something they want.