Called and Sent · Stop 3
What does faith have to do with what you do with what you have?
You probably earned some of what you have, or someone gave it to you. Luther said all of it came through God's hands first. That changes what you do with it.
Start this stopIn Trust
Luther's Small Catechism says God gives us clothing, food, home, and everything we need, and gives it richly, every day. Stewardship covers time and talent, as well as money. Everything you have, and everything you're able to do, comes from somewhere beyond you.
Stewardship is the word for how we hold and use what God has entrusted to us. It doesn't mean giving everything away. It means holding things more loosely, knowing that what you have was given to you in trust, not for keeps.
The tithe, giving ten percent, is an old tradition for money. But the deeper idea is about the posture of your hands: open, not clenched. A cheerful giver, as Paul wrote, is someone who gives freely, not because they're required to, but because they want to. That kind of giving comes from knowing you'll have enough.
Time matters as much as money here. Giving someone your full attention is a gift. Showing up is a gift. Luther would ask the same question he asked about everything: what does this mean, for how I live today?
Read it in your Bible
- Luke 12:22–31. Jesus tells his followers not to worry about food or clothing. God feeds the ravens and dresses the lilies, and they're worth more than birds and flowers. He says to seek God's kingdom first and trust that what they need will come.
- 2 Corinthians 9:7. Paul writes that each person should give what they have decided in their heart to give, not unwillingly or because they feel pushed. God loves a cheerful giver.
The Seventh Commandment and the First Article, from Luther's Small Catechism
You shall not steal. What does this mean? We should fear and love God that we may not take our neighbor's money or property, nor get them by false ware or dealing, but help him to improve and protect his property and business.
He provides me richly and daily with all that I need to support this body and life, protects me from all danger, and guards me and preserves me from all evil; and all this out of pure, fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me.
Words to know
- Stewardship. How we hold and use what God has given us, as people who have received a gift in trust. You can't hold a gift in trust the same way you hold something you own outright. It changes how you use it.
- Tithe. Giving a portion of what you receive, an old tradition the church has carried for centuries. It's a practice, not a law. The point is to start, and let it teach you.
- Treasure. Jesus said where your treasure is, your heart will be there too. What you give your money and time to shows what you actually believe, more than what you say.
- Trust. The posture of someone who holds things loosely, knowing more can come. Clenched hands can't receive anything new. Open hands can give and receive.
- Cheerful. The word Paul used for the kind of giving God loves. It means free, not forced. Giving because you want to, not because you have to.