For the next few weeks I’d like to devote my blog to the topic of stewardship. My reason for doing so is twofold: (a) we are now in the midst of our stewardship campaign, and so the issue is very much on my mind; and (b) I think the true meaning of stewardship is largely misunderstood—or at least not fully appreciated. Let’s face it, most of us have come to regard the stewardship campaign the same way we would a public television pledge drive. That is, we understand the necessity of it, but we would prefer to get it over with as soon as possible, so that we can return to the regular programming.

In effect, stewardship is thought of as sort of a euphemism for fundraising. And that may be why it makes some of us uncomfortable. I had someone remark to me recently, “I wish you didn’t have to talk about money from the pulpit. That’s a personal matter that should be left to the individual. What I give to the church should be between me and God.”

This person makes a good point, of course. One’s level of commitment to the church is something that each of us must decide for ourselves. As a pastor, I cannot dictate how much you give … nor should I! The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians, “Each of you must give as you have made up your own mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7).

But on the other hand, there are a lot of other personal issues—such as prayer and faith—that we talk about in church all the time. Why do we become so squeamish when it comes to speaking about money? Did you realize that the Bible contains about 500 verses concerning prayer, and roughly the same amount concerning faith … but over 5,000 verses concerning money or possessions? Did you realize that if I preached the same percentage of sermons on money that Jesus did, I would be preaching 22 sermons a year on stewardship?

Why does the Bible regard money as being so important? Well, to be blunt, it’s because we regard it as being that important. Whether we like to admit it or not, a large portion of our lives is devoted to the issue of money. We are either earning it, or spending it, or worrying about it, or figuring out ways to save more of it. Money is a profoundly important issue for all of us … and the Bible recognizes that.

It’s not that money is a bad thing. The Bible never says that money, in and of itself, is evil. What the Bible says is that “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” (1 Tim. 6:10). The question is not whether money influences our lives … the question is how much it influences us. For example, are we thinking more about money than we are about God? Are we using money to make us feel good, or to fill an emptiness that we have? Are we spending money to live … or are we living to spend money?

Those are the questions that stewardship asks us to consider. Stewardship is a way of reminding ourselves that our worth and value as children of God is not determined by the balance in our bank accounts. Obviously, we all need money to live … but in the final analysis, it’s not money that gives us life—it’s God! And when we realize this, we have taken the first step toward being a good steward.