Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. Proverbs 3:9-10
When we talk about stewardship in the church, we often focus on money. But stewardship goes way beyond money. Stewardship involves everything the Lord has put into our lives. This includes our health, our children, our skills and talents, our possessions, our money, everything!
There are several guiding principles for Biblical stewardship. This verse from Proverbs highlights one of those principles and that is firstfruits giving. In other words we seek to give back to God first and not what is left over.
When we budget, God is the first item on that budget, not the last. Rather than making our budget up, and then giving to God what is left-over, God gets first dibs.
Another principle highlighted in Genesis is proportional giving. When God appears to Jacob in a dream, Jacob responds by saying, "the Lord will be my God . . . and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth" (Genesis 28:21-22).
Jacob's offering to the Lord would be based upon the Lord's blessing. The greater the blessing, the greater the gift. So the measure is not determined by us, but is determined by God. This is proportional giving or sometimes called percentage giving.
This verse also raises the question of the tithe. I have heard it said that God no where tells us in the Bible to give 10%. That this is something the church just made up.
I will agree that God no where specifically directs us to give 10%. However, I will not say that this is something the church just made up. A 10% tithe while not a Biblical mandate is still Biblical. It is a example that is first set by the Old Testament patriarchs and carried on throughout the Scriptures.
There are many other principles as well such as cheerful giving. We give out of gratitude rather than out of obligation. I could go on. But in many ways, the sum of Scripture is a lesson on stewardship. There is not one part of Scripture that does not inform us on the proper use of God's blessings.
When we talk about stewardship in the church, we often focus on money. But stewardship goes way beyond money. Stewardship involves everything the Lord has put into our lives. This includes our health, our children, our skills and talents, our possessions, our money, everything!
There are several guiding principles for Biblical stewardship. This verse from Proverbs highlights one of those principles and that is firstfruits giving. In other words we seek to give back to God first and not what is left over.
When we budget, God is the first item on that budget, not the last. Rather than making our budget up, and then giving to God what is left-over, God gets first dibs.
Another principle highlighted in Genesis is proportional giving. When God appears to Jacob in a dream, Jacob responds by saying, "the Lord will be my God . . . and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth" (Genesis 28:21-22).
Jacob's offering to the Lord would be based upon the Lord's blessing. The greater the blessing, the greater the gift. So the measure is not determined by us, but is determined by God. This is proportional giving or sometimes called percentage giving.
This verse also raises the question of the tithe. I have heard it said that God no where tells us in the Bible to give 10%. That this is something the church just made up.
I will agree that God no where specifically directs us to give 10%. However, I will not say that this is something the church just made up. A 10% tithe while not a Biblical mandate is still Biblical. It is a example that is first set by the Old Testament patriarchs and carried on throughout the Scriptures.
There are many other principles as well such as cheerful giving. We give out of gratitude rather than out of obligation. I could go on. But in many ways, the sum of Scripture is a lesson on stewardship. There is not one part of Scripture that does not inform us on the proper use of God's blessings.
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