How Are We Managing What Has Been Entrusted to Us?
Assessing personal faithfulness with regard to the management of God’s resources is the responsibility of every Christian individually. It is difficult to draw general conclusions about our collective success—or lack thereof—as the people of God with regard to biblical stewardship. God’s word, however, is decidedly cautious about our attitude toward His money and our flesh’s inclination toward the pursuit and accumulation of earthly possessions.
Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. (Ecc. 5:10)
Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” (Luke 12:15)
The choice is clear: We can love and worship God or we can love and worship His money. In the Spirit, we long to become more like Jesus and to use the resources entrusted to us for His glory and His purposes. In the flesh, however, we are prone to prefer the things of this world. We begin to live as if God’s money is actually ours, more money is always better, and contentment comes from wealth rather than from God. We find ourselves hoarding God’s wealth for our own purposes, seeking financial independence not only for ourselves but also for future generations. When this happens, we are in jeopardy of squandering those resources God has entrusted us to complete the work He has assigned to us.
That is our ultimate destination, to discover and apply God’s wisdom with regard to inheritance.
Is it possible that God, in His infinite wisdom and sovereign purpose, has entrusted to this generation of Christians all of the resources needed to complete the Great Commission? Further, is it possible that we are—consciously or unconsciously—stockpiling these resources for another purpose entirely? Are we continuing to accumulate and store up God’s wealth with the intention of passing it all down to the next generation rather than releasing some or most for Kingdom use? If so, can we say with confidence that we believe this was God’s intended purpose for the excess wealth He has entrusted to our care—to make the next generation so wealthy that they have no need of God (Rev. 3:17)?
Few would dispute the notion that we represent the wealthiest generation of Christians in the history of the church. As we’ll see in the coming chapters, God has entrusted an unprecedented amount of wealth to His people in our generation—wealth that is well in excess of what will ever be needed or consumed in our lifetime. If, indeed, evangelical churches and parachurch ministries are lacking the resources needed to do the work God has invited and commanded His people to do, what conclusion must we draw with regard to our faithfulness in managing the wealth He has so graciously entrusted to us?
Faithfulness in all things is measured by conformity to God’s word: His stated purposes and commands. In order for each of us to assess the degree to which we’re being faithful, both in our day-to-day management of His resources and our estate and wealth transfer plans, we must first understand God’s perspective. That is our ultimate destination, to discover and apply God’s wisdom with regard to inheritance.
Faith & Finance Perspective:
As you think about all the resources the Lord has entrusted to you and how you will manage them, are you keeping Kingdom outcomes at the forefront? When looking at your estate plan, will future generations know where your focus was? Take some time to identify three to five things you would like to characterize your legacy. Assess how they align with how the Holy Spirit has been guiding you in your stewardship journey.
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. – Matthew 6:24
