“Faith requires action”

Stewardship Lesson #4

Principle #4: “Faith requires action” – Matthew 25:24-30; “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.“‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The definition of stewardship: “Stewardship is the use of God-given resources for the accomplishment of God-given goals.”

If we believe God owns all the money we have & He owns all our possessions, & if we believe we are in a growth process, & if we believe that the amount is not important, then what we do with the amount given to us by God requires adherence to His principles for spending.

Richard Foster states it well when he says, “If what I have is a gift, & if what I have is to be shared with others, & if what I have is on loan from God, then, & only then, can I experience true freedom from anxiety.”

There is a natural law involved with the spending of money. By natural law, I mean a law of nature, set down by the Creator. One of these laws is that if you spend it, you don't have it to spend. And there are more laws, too, which we will be discussing in further lessons.

To be able to apply the natural laws of stewardship to your finances, you must first determine to act upon your belief. If I told you your house was on fire, & if you believed me, you would act – notably, you would get out of the house. If, however, you did not believe me when I told you your house was on fire, you would remain seated in your easy chair. The same concept is true with finances. If we believe that God owns it all, we will behave very differently than if we believe it is our money. Our spending will reflect our belief.

Recap:

1. Do you really believe God owns all you have?

On a sheet of paper, list everything you own. Include an approximate value to the item. For example, you may own a car worth $10,000. On the paper you will list the car & beside it a value of $10,000. You will also list any personal possessions you have. 

After having listed all you have & placed a monetary value on it, write these words: “I hereby acknowledge that all of these possessions are owned by God. As owner, God has the rights to these things. I am only a steward. As a steward, I have only responsibility for these things.” Now, sign your name & date the paper.