Stewardship in Light of the Cross

Soviet Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, the author of Tortured for Christ, suffered terribly for the Lord.  Yet he said that even while in prison, he saw fellow Soviet believers practice generous giving. "When we were given one slice of bread a week and dirty soap every day, we decided we would faithfully 'tithe' even that.  Every tenth week we took the slice of bread and gave it to the weaker brethren as our 'tithe' to the Master."

Pastor Wurmrband and his friends practiced “tithing” even in prison not because God needed their bread and soap, but because they needed a way to express their love for God. That is what stewardship is all about; using our time, money and talents to say, “thank you God for loving me and giving us your Son.” Just like a little boy who takes his allowance money to buy a Father’s Day gift, in reality the boy is only returning what the father has already given.  It is the same with us and our Heavenly Father. Let’s take a look at how we can thank God for “His unspeakable gift (2 Corinthians 9:15).”

Who does everything belong to?

The earth [is] the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.  Psalm 24:1

Even though it all belongs to God, He shares it with us because He loves us. What does He ask us to do with a tenth of the money He gives us?

Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, [even] a tenth [part] of the tithe. The Levis served in the temple full time and so as not to be distracted by temporal work, the other tribes gave a tenth of all they had to support the Levis in their ministry. Numbers 18:26

Do we tithe before or after our profits?

Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.  Deuteronomy 14:22

We are asked to tithe on our increase or profit. That means if your neighbor pays you $25.00 to mow their lawn, and you spend $5.00 on gas then you profit $20.00 and pay a tithe or tenth of that which is $2.00

What does God ask us to give in addition to our tenth for tithe?

But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.  Malachi 3:8

The tithe goes strait to pay the ministers, while our offerings cover other expenses needed to help operate the church and care for the poor. God says if we fail to return (return not give, for it’s already His) our tithes and offerings that we are robbing Him. A thief steals when the victim is not present, but a robber robs when the victim is right there! If you take from God what is His, we are robbing Him right in plain sight.

Are we to give offerings because we have to or because we want to?

Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, [so let him give]; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7

In Matthew 26:6-13 we read about a sinful woman who came and anointed Jesus with some very costly perfume. God did not tell her she had to do this, but after being forgiven for her sins, she loved Jesus so much she bought the most costly perfume she could find to give to Him. In giving this expensive gift she was simply giving all of herself to Jesus because He was giving all of Himself for her. Judas thought she had given too much, but when you are in love with Jesus you give all you can without holding anything back.

In my home I had a plaque with a picture of the Cross, and the words, “I asked Jesus how much do you love me, this much he said, and then he spread out his arms and died.” Jesus does not need our money, that really is not what the tithe and offering system is all about. He has given us the tithing and offering system so when He asks us, “How much do you love me” we will have a way to answer.

In light of the Cross will you hold back anything from God?

Remember we are saved by faith and not by works. So when we return our tithes and offerings to God what we are saying is “I don’t trust my money to save and provide for me Jesus, I have faith in you saving and providing for me.”

Offering the money God has given is not the only way we can thank Him for His love. What else has God given that we can give Him?

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  Ephesians 5:16

Giving all of our time does not mean that we have to spend every second at church worshiping God. We can spend time worshiping Him at work by setting a good example (Romans 12:11). The greatest gift we can give someone is our time. Time is the only real substance of our life, so when we give our time to help others we are literally giving our lives, just as Jesus gave His life.

Ephesians 4 and 1 Corinthians 12 talk about gifts or talents the Lord has given us. We need to be good stewards of our talents as well as our time and money (Matthew 25:14-30). God has given us talents not to show off and use for our own benefit, but so we can be blessings to others.