Recently I was asked, “What is Christian stewardship”? I must confess that it caught me a little unprepared and began my thought processes. What uncomplicated words could I use to clarify this tenet of our faith? Really, after some consideration, I decided it was not too difficult to describe. So here goes!
There is a common perception that Christian stewardship is about balancing the books, keeping the show on the road, paying for the maintenance of the Church building and of course, the parish share. However, in reality, stewardship is a fundamental part of Christian discipleship and needs to be seen in the light of God's mission in creation.
If we profess to being a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, then we are all, without exception, his stewards, surrounding every part of our lives; worship, prayer, family, friends, our neighbour, the sick and the bereaved, the work we do, the beautiful world around us, our happiness and our sadness.
So why is it that our perception of stewardship seems always to focus on money? The plain fact is that usually money talk in church is driven by shortage, discussed in a culture of scarcity and fear of causing offence and focused on the needs of church buildings rather than ‘the church’ .
In such a climate, spirituality that sees money as a gift and giving as a grace can never hope to thrive. We need a global warming of the heart. Christian giving should not be primarily about the needs of the church but our need, our wanting to give back to God some of our time, our special and unique talents and some of our money. We don’t pay, we give, freely and cheerfully and yes, for the majority of us, it does not come easily or naturally.
Why do we find money giving difficult?
Every year, we are all confronted with thousands of highly professional adverts on TV, radio, hoardings and magazines, promoting an ever more affluent lifestyle. One of the unhappy consequences of this is that the majority of churchgoers think like consumers first and Christians second.
Giving in Grace is not about fundraising – it is about giving: giving in response to God’s love and His overwhelming generosity; giving as an act of worship and thanksgiving; giving to enable us to share in God’s action in his church and his world.
In this country too many of our churches live at a subsistence level with effective ministry and mission severely restricted by very low levels of financial giving which tend to be masked by the true sacrificial giving of a few church members. It is indeed a godly thing to give the Widow’s Mite – but only if we are on the widow’s income and are giving with the widow’s spirit! As the slogan suggests, “Give what is right, not what is left”!
If we only knew and accepted what God has given to us we would not hesitate to be thankful and to express that thanks in generosity. If we knew who we were giving to, our gifts would be marked by great love and joy; the cheerful giving of which St. Paul speaks. We are not called to respond grudgingly to an inopportune request but to respond joyfully to the invitation to be caught up in God’s grace of giving.
Maturity in Christian giving is moving beyond calculating how much to give on the basis of the budget needs of the church. Rather we should be asking how much of me, of my life, my lifestyle, my faith is expressed in what I give. A thought for the day you read this; if you don’t miss what you give then you’re probably not giving enough. May the love of God and of His Son, Jesus Christ rest in our hearts.
Nigel Cottam
Stewardship Chairman