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Principle #3 – “God expects us to practice stewardship in ways that glorify God and strengthen His earthly Kingdom.”

Christian stewardship is about recognizing the source of our resources, their origin, and what we should do with these resources. Understanding and practicing good stewardship can help us develop a more complete picture of our relationship to God and prioritize our finances, values, and lives around the things that matter most. Our church has established seven “Principles” to help us better understand stewardship and what God expects of us. In this article we review Principle #3, which shares:

“God expects us to practice stewardship in ways that glorify God and strengthen His earthly Kingdom.”

Through the example of Jesus, it’s clear that God cares about us — particularly the poor, the vulnerable, and the destitute. God also wants us to redeem the world through the gospel, and he’s commanded us to play a part (Matthew 28:16-20).

We often think about “taking care of things” in terms of keeping them in good working condition. But if your tools, vehicles, food, home, entertainment, and other possessions are sitting untouched or only being used to make you comfortable, is that good stewardship?

Good steward should push you to think differently about the things in your possession. Everything belongs to God, and everything he gives us represents new opportunities to serve others and share the love of Christ.

Giving is one aspect of stewardship, but it often becomes the main focus because it’s one of the clearest examples of how we use God’s resources wisely, and giving to the church was one of the main ways that early Christians practiced stewardship. The early church recognized that everything they had was really God’s, and they knew they could accomplish far more by pooling their resources together.

As Christians, we should look at tithing (giving ten percent of everything to God) as the bare minimum we should give, not the gold standard of generosity. For many, tithing is challenging. However, moving toward the full tithe, or exceeding your current tithe, by increasing your giving each year, should be the goal for all Christian stewards.

Everything God has given you —physical and spiritual — is an opportunity to love and serve others and glorify God. So, practice stewardship in ways that glorify Him and strengthen His earthly Kingdom.

That’s what God expects of us.