but a love was in my heart
that i feel now
The legend goes that when John D. Rockefeller, the richest man in the world at the time, was asked how much is enough, he replied, “just a little bit more.” It’s a breathtaking answer. But not for how crass it is. It’s breathtaking for how honest it is. The truth is, to various degrees, we are all caught up in this same rat race. We, too, think the missing ingredient to our satisfaction is just a little bit more.
And that’s the rub, isn’t it? A little bit more is always just a little out of reach. No sooner do we amass a little more than we realize it’s still not enough! That we have to gain a little more still before we will finally have enough.
None of us ever set out to become greedy. It’s just something that happens to us. After years of chasing that allusive enough that never seems to come, the light in our eyes becomes darkness, as Jesus says. One day, suddenly, everything we see becomes tinted. Tinted by a skewed vision of reality that never sees enough. No matter where we look.
And that is precisely why stewardship, rather than being something that makes us all uncomfortable, is really just the medicine we all need! Stewardship is the antidote to that frenzied addiction to acquisition!
We all bring a bunch of baggage to the topic of stewardship. Don’t we? Myself included. Truth be told, though, all that baggage probably says more about us than it does anything else. Because in the end, all stewardship is, is living lives in tune with God! And here’s the first bit of Good News to start us off, God’s better at managing our lives than we are!
…Honestly, though, part of the reason it’s hard for us to put our guard down when it comes to stewardship is all those religious hucksters out there. Isn’t it? Sure, plenty of the baggage we bring to stewardship is our own. But not all of it. There’s a cadre of conmen out there, giving stewardship a bad name.
So, here’s another bit of Gospel, Jesus is no grifter! For instance, did you notice how shockingly irreligious Jesus is when it comes to finances! He doesn’t say a word about giving to the church. Does he?
Churches get into trouble when we talk about stewardship as if all it is, is giving to the church. Stewardship, like the rest of God’s call on your life, includes all your life! Stewardship isn’t just about how much you give to the church. Stewardship is about so much more!
Stewardship is about how you spend all your money. And stewardship is even about how you acquire your money, too! Ultimately, stewardship is about how you live all your life! In other words, stewardship is about placing your entire life under God’s reign.
And that’s the Good News! As we said earlier, God’s better at managing our lives than we are! But don’t take my word for it. Just look at the imminently practical advice Jesus gives in that famous sermon of his on the mount! “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,” Jesus says, “where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal.”
Jesus shows the lie of that misguided notion of ours that acquiring a little more will actually make us more! In contrast to our belief that amassing a little more will finally curb our fear of insecurity, Jesus shows it only increases our worries! As Jesus observes, no sooner do we come into one windfall than we start worrying about losing it! Which the forces of decay, natural or human, all but ensure will happen!
Instead of tugging on those chains of acquisition that we all think will free us, Jesus holds up another way! A calmer one. A more peaceful one. One that’s more in tune with God. One that’s as free as the birds of the air and as lovely as the lily of the valley!
The flora and fauna of creation aren’t satisfied because they’ve acquired enough. No, they’re provided for because God provides! It’s that simple! The birds of the air aren’t carefree because they’ve socked away enough so that they don’t have to worry anymore! No, they’re carefree because GOD cares for them! And the lilies of the field, they don’t wear timeless fashion because they can afford designer labels. No, they’re all decked out because they’re marked by the hand of their creator!
And so are you! God has given you everything! All that you have comes from the hand of God. You, too, are as dependent as the birds of the air or the lilies of the field. And that, and that alone, is what makes you truly free and lovely, to boot!
Stewardship is not about buying God’s approval. Stewardship, first and foremost, is about settling into everything God already has in store for you! So with that in mind, let us listen again to Jesus’ word: “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”
Hear this: you are of infinite value to the one who loves you without end, Jesus Christ! Jesus doesn’t love you any more or less based on what’s in or not in your bank account or wardrobe. In fact, he knows those all things you’ve tried to conceal in your closet and everything you’ve failed to fit into your budget. And guess what? He still loves you just the same!
Jesus comes, not to tell you what you must do to earn his love. No, he comes to give you everything he’s done to win yours! Stewardship is not about how much you must give to God. No, stewardship is about everything God has given to you in Jesus Christ!
Stewardship is about all your life because Jesus Christ has given you all his! Along with that resurrection that always seems to follow its his wake! Jesus has given you all that belongs to him, so everything about you, and I do mean everything, might belong to him!
Jesus has given you everything, and eternity, too! And in that divine pledge, suddenly all of God’s good gifts come to be seen as one more part of your Lord’s provision for you!
The enchanted sunlight of a late summer morning. The chorus of crickets just outside the window. Eternity itself, only on the other side of this thin veil. Our own souls, a little more visible than they would be otherwise. And the souls of loved ones who are on the other side of that veil and perfectly visible to God. And so not far from you on this hallowed morn. A Sunday on the edge of eternity. With whispers of God’s love behind you and a joyous freedom spread out before you.
Your future. Your past. Your every single breath and heartbeat. These come, not as another thing you must squirrel away, but as an actual part of the salvation God has set out for you from the beginning of time.
And this is true for you whether you recognize it or not. Although, recognizing it will make all the difference. Because when you already have more than you could dare to ask for, there’s nothing you can lose anymore.
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