Stewardship: Being Thankful

Luke 16:1-13 and Ecclesiastes 5:10-20

What are you thankful for today? What do you celebrate today? I think that many of celebrate Dawson’s commitment to Christ that he made this morning. Some of us woke up felling pain somewhere in our bodies yet, we came to church and thank God for this day that we have or, we thank God for the pain because it reminds us that we are indeed alive.

The author of Ecclesiastes has a rather dim view of the world. The word vanity as is used in Ecclestesis refers to meaningless or emptiness. The statement being made in the scripture for Ecclesiasts is that money is meaningless. The pursuit of money just for the sake of having money or material things won’t bring you true happiness. Money used by the caregiver to bring home food for the family, money used to help out those in need, money used to secure housing or contributing to the welfare of others. That, brings happiness to the laborer, money used wisely allows the working person to sleep well at night while the rich person stays awake concerned about making more money or the state of the economy and how it will affect their wealth.

An aspect of stewardship that I have not approached is that of thankfulness. God created humans to be in relationship with God. Humans co-create and to care for the earth as designed by God. For me this comes under the heading of treasure when I think about stewardship being our time, treasure and talent. If we treasured the earth, we would take better care of it. If we treasured our relationship with God more we would do more to nurture it.

The scripture from Luke 16 challenges us in how we manage what we are entrusted with. We see how a dishonest manager manages the accounts so that he will find favor when he is released from his employment. Would you hire that guy if you knew the truth? Is that someone you would want as a co-worker or employee? Many of us are like that in our relationship with God. We play games with what we have been trusted to manage. We strike deals and trade some of the best for lesser things so that we gain favor with others. We under value that which we have been blessed with. We will thank the doctor for saving our life and forget to pass a thank you on to God for the wisdom he gave the doctor or for the healing grace that God bestowed upon us.

The scripture reminds us that we have to choose, true riches or unrighteous wealth.  We cannot serve money and God. I know for many of you here today you come to church and it seems like we are always looking for money for something.  It is true; if you come and ask about where you can spend money I am full of ideas. I will also tell you if you are looking for a place to spend your time or use your talent, I can do that too. Money is one of the tools in our stewardship toolbox available to us to use to glorify God. You can’t serve both money and God. You will have to choose which to serve.

As you fill out your commitment cards today remember these things: Stewardship is a combination of time, treasure and talent. Why not commit yourself not just to treasure but also tell us what time and talent you will commit to God through this faith community? Remember that the tithe is the minimum. Jesus does not talk about tithing because Jesus encourages us to be extravagant in the giving of our time treasure and talent. He encourages us to give more than the minimum ten percent. Consider what it means to put God first and to understand that stewardship is a faith issue. How much do you trust God? What do you trust God with? Also consider that scripture informs us that where our treasure is there your heart will be also. If you want your relationship with God to grow, place your time treasure and talent with God. The church is an excellent place to invest your heart. Bad things do happen to good people but a strong relationship with God through the power of the community of faith is a wonderful way to be able to weather the storms of life. God is a multiplier of blessings. Faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains; just not always in the way we expect the mountains to be moved. Share in the vision; two weeks ago I shared with you some of the places I vision the church being more involved. Continue to be an active part of this community by sharing where you vision this community of faith being involved. You pay me to lead you, not to do the work for you.

Last and most important; if something is worth doing it’s worth giving all of your effort to. It’s worthy of going to God with and it’s worth giving God gratitude for. Let’s make our stewardship about giving thanks to God and let’s be involved with God doing great things through us. Let’s dream big and honor what God has blessed us with. This is my hope for our stewardship this year.