Financial Proverbs

One of the biggest reasons why a Christian should care about finances is that of Stewardship.  (Click here to watch a recently posted video of “Why a Christian Should care about Finances.”)

Stewardship is a word that gets misused a lot of times within Christianity.  When a preacher says he is going to teach a series on stewardship, the entire congregation holds their wallets, because that is what they think he is after.  When a church does a stewardship dinner, they typically mean they are going to conduct a fundraiser.  Many associate stewardship with giving, to the point where it is almost because a curse word to many.  Let me assure you, when I say that stewardship, I don’t mean anything like that.

Psalms 24:1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

Here are three things regarding stewardship that will help you handle money better.

1) God Owns Everything - Everything you see belongs to God, including money.  He is the maker and creator of everything that is here.  Thus, because he made everything, he owns everything.  However, God has given the earth and the things on it to the dominion of mankind. Given that, your money is not really your money, but God’s. But he gave it to you to be a steward of.

2) The Origin of Stewardship - The word Steward goes back to old English time, where a king or noble, would own land, farms, animals, and other possessions, but entrust them to a steward to manage and operate.  One a ship, people would give their valuable possessions to the ship’s steward.  At the end of the voyage, you would go to him, and if he was a faithful steward, you would get your valuables back.  The same applies to money, in our relationship to God.  While he owns the money, he has entrusted it to us to use and manage.

3) Think of yourself as a manger -  In a company or organization, they typically have a chief financial officer, comptroller, or treasurer.  That person is responsible to manage the money and execute financial transactions based upon the owner’s direction or guidance.  The same is true with us.  God expects you and I to manage his money, for his glory, based upon his direction and guidance. Imagine you went to the bank, to withdrawal money that you deposited, and the banker came out and told you that his wife and him really needed a new boat, and used the money in your account to buy it.  You would be pretty upset.  It was not his money to spend. You are the owner on the account, and entrusted him to keep it save, make you a little interest, and do what you said with it.  The same is true with God, only you are the banker and he is the owner.

How can you personally apply the idea of being a steward or manager to your finances?  Leave a comment and encourage others.