“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. . . . You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.” 2 Corinthians 9:8, 11
Have you ever heard anyone say these things?
- “I’m broke, I can’t afford to give anything to my church. Besides, we have plenty of rich people, don’t they give enough?”
- “I’m very busy. I don’t have time for that. Someone else will do it. Besides, don’t we hire pastors to do that work?”
- “I’m not good at ________. The church doesn’t need my help. I’m just a ________.”
I know these sayings well. They’re mine.
I have at one time or another said all of these things to justify hanging on to my stuff, often viciously protecting it. After all it’s mine . . . right? I’m OK with giving a portion of my stuff to help others, because of course I’m super generous. As long as there’s plenty left over for me, I’m good.
The truth is, Jesus wants 100 percent of you and me. Not just a tenth of us—he demands all. That includes our stuff.
I believe that most of our distortion around this comes from approaching this with the wrong assumptions entirely. We start with this erroneous idea: everything is ours, including our life. Because of that, we make decisions based on what works best for us: where we live, where we work, where our children go to school, where we go to church—all of these questions get answered with, “Whatever is best for me.” Once I’ve established my own direction, then I add Jesus’ mission on top, choosing a church nearby that has a good kid’s program and joining the greeting team.
But, what if we started with a different question? What if we started with: “What makes the most disciples?” Above, Paul seems to have this heart when he writes (paraphrase mine):
“God’s grace is overflowing, and absolutely abundant . . .
“. . . making what we have sufficient for all things at all times . . .
“[so that] we are abounding in every good work [on his mission, not our own] . . .
“. . . which will result in our enrichment and many people giving thanks to him.”
If you start with “What makes the most disciples?” how do you then use these resources to make the most of that work?
Time
Is your time primarily yours, with a portion given to God? Or is your time primarily his and stewarded carefully for a disciple-making mission? How does that affect family time at home? How does influence your use of “downtime” to recharge and renew so that you’re most effective—on that mission?
Truth is, every breath is a gift from God to be stewarded for his kingdom, for his glory, on his mission. All of our time belongs to him, because apart from his gift we would have none. Stewarding our time well often requires carefully leaving healthy gaps of downtime to recharge and renew my energy; being careful to build in gaps to spend with my family, but this job he’s given us to “make disciples in all the nations” requires real work, which takes time.
Talents
Are your talents primarily for your own enjoyment, or are they primary for making disciples?
Our churches need pastors to do the work of teaching to be sure. But, they also need people who love to watch toddlers while the parents are in the service, to the glory of God. We need people who make great coffee, to the glory of God. We also need gifted administrators and financial analysts, to the glory of God. And, we need Community Group leaders, Community Group hosts, Redemption Group leaders, greeters, musicians, artists, decorators, and so on . . . to the glory of God.
Your gifts and talents are from him and for him. All of them. Hobbies can be a great thing, but when they become the focus over and above our God, that’s a bad thing.
Treasures
Is your money primarily yours with a portion given to God, or primarily his with a portion given to you to steward wisely? What is the primary purpose of your money, to care for you or to care for others? Is your house for your enjoyment and protection only, or is God calling you to share it with others? If you really want to get crazy, how do you choose where you live? Is it based on where you most feel comfortable, or where God can use you most? How about your car(s), bike, garden, yard, etc.? How do you leverage all of your “stuff” in the disciple-making mission of Jesus?
So, how about you? Which of your time, talents, or treasures do you need to return to their rightful owner and begin to steward well for his kingdom, and his glory, on his mission? Pray about it.
