The Biblical Theology of Stewardship...

This week, we are addressing a tension and frustration that can arise when it comes to money, finances, and treasure. Where we get off track, frustrated, and in trouble when it comes to finances is when we try to fulfill roles and responsibilities that belong to God, or ignore or fail to fulfill responsibilities that belong to us. So, in Psalm 50, we are looking at what roles and responsibilities are God’s and what responsibilities are ours when it comes to money and finances. We looked at the reality that when it comes to our role and God’s role in money, possessions, and treasure, is that we can find ourselves falling into some faulty theology. We looked specifically at the faulty views of prosperity theology and poverty theology.

While both prosperity and poverty theology find no support in the Bible, there is a third theological view when it comes to our role and God’s role in money, possessions, and treasure that is clearly supported by the message and teachings of the Bible. And that third theological view is called stewardship theology. Stewardship theology maintains that, when it comes to treasure, God is the owner and we are the manager.

And when we embrace what the Bible actually teaches about stewardship theology, spiritually mature followers of Jesus view wealth and possessions as a responsibility to be managed. When we embrace stewardship theology, generosity and giving is driven by the mentality that “I give because I love God and want to respond to the generosity of Jesus by being generous”. So our giving is motivated by a delight in God.

And when we embrace stewardship theology, the management of the money, possessions, and treasure that they have is motivated by a prayerful and responsible recognition that God is the owner and that we are the managers of the money, possessions, and treasure we possess. Because, when it comes to treasure, God is the owner and we are the manager.

So which theological view of how God and money relate and interact with humanity are you holding? Prosperity theology, where God is our spiritual Santa Claus that we use in order to get what we really worship, which is money, possessions, and treasure? Poverty theology, where we interact with money, possessions and treasure out of duty rather than delight?

Or stewardship theology, where we view God as the owner of all and embrace the role and responsibility that we have to manage all that God has given us in a way that reveals and reflects Jesus and God’s generosity to the world?