"...life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." Lk 12.15

Stewardship season is upon us.  Please give more money.  Simple enough.  

But that is not everything there is to say.  That is incomplete theology.  The scriptures talk about giving ten percent (Micah 3). Yet in Luke 11.42,  Jesus does not want our tithes separate from justice and the love of God. Jesus also talks about selling all you have and giving it to the poor (Lk 18.19-30 - Jesus can demand a higher standard - he gave his life).  We cannot buy salvation; yet we respond to God's grace by giving. 

What do we give?

First, money is hard-wired value in our brains.  Money is also a gift from God, the subject of a surprising number of scriptural texts and the source of much of our anxiety.  How we deal with money says a lot about what we believe about God.

We are also largely unconscious of our talents.  God has given us spiritual gifts flowing from our created bodies and souls.  Are we allowing God to use us where we are really needed?  

What about time? What do we believe about the other 95% of our time outside "church."  Is it ours? Our family's? If it's all God's, then what does that mean about the time we spend on our job, our family, our recreation, and our community.

Stewardship is more than increasing your financial commitment to the church.  Use this stewardship season as a time of reflection; seek out how you can be "rich toward God."

in His richness,

MORGAN