Hospitality

Assuming we have houses, beds, chairs, food, drink, medicine and other provisions to share with others and the needy, we are encouraged to be hospitable. 

Dear friend, you have always been faithful in helping other followers of the Lord, even the ones you didn’t know before. They have told the church about your love. They say you were good enough to welcome them and to send them on their mission in a way that God’s servants deserve. When they left to tell others about the Lord, they decided not to accept help from anyone who wasn’t a follower. We must support people like them, so that we can take part in what they are doing to spread the truth. - 3 John 5-8

Paul and his traveling ministry team were deeply grateful for the hospitality that facilitated their ministry.  Without the support of those disciples called by Jesus to have and share possessions, those called to leave possessions behind couldn't carry out their mission.

We have three good instructions regarding our attitude towards wealth.

Don’t store up treasures on earth! Moths and rust can destroy them, and thieves can break in and steal them.- Matthew 6:19

Warn the rich people of this world not to be proud or to trust in wealth that is easily lost. Tell them to have faith in God, who is rich and blesses us with everything we need to enjoy life. Instruct them to do as many good deeds as they can and to help everyone. Remind the rich to be generous and share what they have.  This will lay a solid foundation for the future, so that they will know what true life is like. - 1 Timothy 6:17-19

 Any of God’s people who are poor should be glad that He thinks so highly of them. - James 1:9

Believers who lived in humble circumstances were not second class but of equal importance - some, because of persecution, lost their possessions and social status and became poor.

Since God hates partiality, the affluent do not marginalise or look down on the less affluent.  It is why ministries to do not court flatter the wealthy or court donors.

Here are five good reasons to be careful when we find ourselves with more than we need.

People who want to be rich fall into all sorts of temptations and traps. They are caught by foolish and harmful desires that drag them down and destroy them.- 1 Timothy 6:9

God blesses his loyal people,
    but punishes all who want
    to get rich quick. - Proverbs 28:20


 Jesus said to his disciples, “It’s terribly hard for rich people to get into the kingdom of heaven!- Matthew 19:23

But they start worrying about the needs of this life. They are fooled by the desire to get rich and to have all kinds of other things. So the message gets choked out, and they never produce anything. - Mark 4:19


Don’t trust in violence
or depend on dishonesty    or rely on great wealth. - Psalm 62:10

 We should not be preoccupied with God's plan for others.

Jesus answered, “What is it to you, if I want him to live until I return? You must follow me.” - John 21:22

May we have not so much that we become proud and independent of the Lord and not so much that distracts us from our purpose or insulates us from our sense of His need and dependence on Him.

Make me absolutely honest
and don’t let me be too poor
    or too rich.
    Give me just what I need. If I have too much to eat,
    I might forget about you;
if I don’t have enough,
    I might steal    and disgrace your name. - Proverbs 30:8-9

 Giving is the safety valve that releases the excess pressure of wealth.


 

Stories about Stewardship

The story of the shrewd manager shows that each of us should carefully invest our financial assets, gifts, and opportunities to have an impact on people for eternity, thereby making preparations for our own eternal future.

The story of the coins shows that we're each entrusted by God with different financial assets, gifts and opportunities and we'll be accountable to God for how we've invested them in this life.

The story of investments shows that those with comparable gifts, assets and opportunities will be judged according to their faithfulness and industriousness in investing them in God's kingdom, and consequently will receive varying positions of authority in heaven.

The master may deal with other servants however they wish.  Each servant must do the job and be prepared to give account to one from whom nothing can be hidden.

The inevitability of consequences for all our actions - the law of the eternal harvest is more certain than the laws of physics --

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked [He will not allow Himself to be ridiculed, nor treated with contempt nor allow His precepts to be scornfully set aside]; for whatever a man sows, this and this only is what he will reap. - Galatians 6:7

The meaninglessness of everyone else's evaluation of the steward compared to the judgement of our one and only master --

Who are you to judge the servant of another? Before his own master he stands [approved] or falls [out of favour]. And he [who serves the Master—the Lord] will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. - Romans 14:4

 From the beginning to end, Scripture repeatedly emphasised God's ownership of everything --

Behold, the heavens and the highest of heavens belong to the Lord your God, the earth and all that is in it. - Deuteronomy 10:14

The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; you are [only] foreigners and temporary residents with Me. - Leviticus 25:23

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and on the earth; Yours is the dominion and kingdom, O Lord,and You exalt Yourself as head over all. Both riches and honour come from You, and You rule over all. In Your hand is power and might; and it is in Your hands to make great and to give strength to everyone. - 1 Chronicles 29:11-12

"Who has first given to Me that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine. [Who can have a claim against Me who made the unmastered beast?] - Job 41:11

The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness of it, The world, and those who dwell in it. For He has founded it upon the seas And established it upon the streams and the rivers. - Psalm 24:1

'The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,' declares the Lord of hosts. - Haggai 2:8

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is within you, whom you have [received as a gift] from God, and that you are not your own [property]? You were bought with a price [you were actually purchased with the precious blood of Jesus and made His own]. So then, honour and glorify God with your body. - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Not only does God own everything, but He determines how much of His wealth He will entrust to us --

But you shall remember [with profound respect] the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore (solemnly promised) to your fathers, as it is this day. - Deuteronomy 8:18

The Lord makes poor and makes rich;He brings low and He lifts up. - 1 Samuel 2:7

Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all. In Your hand is power and might; and it is in Your hands to make great and to give strength to everyone. - 1 Chronicles 29:12

When I grasp that I'm a steward, not an owner, it totally changes my perspective.  Suddenly, I'm not asking, "How much of my money shall I, out of the goodness of my heart, give to God?"  Rather, I'm asking, "Since all of 'my' money is really Yours, Lord, how would you like me to invest Your money today?"





Stewardship Stories

Learning and Teaching Stewardship

Inspirational Christian Stories and Poems

Sermon Illustrations, Humor, and Stories on Finances, Generosity, Giving, Tithing, Offerings
Journey to Generosity True Stories

"Lord, You Can Use My Boat"

STORIES

Changing the Way People Think About Generosity

Doctrine of Reverse

Luke 16 tells us the story of a rich man and a poor man (Lazarus).  The rich man dressed well, lived in luxury, and was apparently healthy.  Lazarus was a beggar, diseased, dirty and ---

... lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores. - Luke 16:21

If asked, "Who would you rather be, the rich man or Lazarus?" you would presumably reply, "The rich man."

We aren't told that this rich man was dishonest or irreligious or that he was worse than your average person.  We do know that he didn't use his god-provided wealth to care for another man in need.

Both men die.  Lazarus goes to heaven and the rich man goes to hell. When the rich man begs Abraham from across the gulf to send Lazarus to relieve his suffering ---

“Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish." - Luke 16:25

 Now that you have heard the rest of the story, who would you rather be, the rich man or Lazarus?  Abraham has made the point - after death, it's too late too switch.

This parable teaches that in eternity many of us will find ourselves in opposite conditions from our current situation on earth.

In the song she composed in anticipation of Christ's birth, Mary said ---

He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away with empty hands. - Luke 1:53

Jesus said ---

“God blesses you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours. What sorrow awaits you who are fat and prosperous now, for a time of awful hunger awaits you.
What sorrow awaits you who laugh now,
for your laughing will turn to mourning and sorrow." - Luke 6:20,25

The poor in spirit,those who mourn, those who are meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness and are persecuted will be relieved and fulfilled and have a great reward in heaven.  Those praised in this world will not be highly regarded in the next, and vice versa.  those who are exalted in this life will often be humbled in the next; those who are humbled here on earth will be exalted in heaven.

Those who are poor in this world will often be rich in the next, and those who are rich in this world will often be poor in the next.  The poor are reassured that the hoarding and oppressing rich will one day be punished and the honest poor will be relieved.  In Revelation 18:7, a voice from heaven says ---

She glorified herself and lived in luxury,
so match it now with torment and sorrow ..." - Revelation 18:7

Someday this upside-down world will be turned right side up.  If we are wise, we will spend our brief lives on earth positioning ourselves for the turn.






Reversal Doctrine

Is materialism simply wrong?

Jesus once asked His profit-conscious audience --

What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? - Matthew 16:26

The parable of the rich fool portrays a man who thought of himself as a successful businessman.  The essence of foolishness is that we either don't recognise the truth or we choose to ignore it.

He acted irrationally, as if he could escape death or delay it indefinitely.  He neglected to number his days and therefore failed to gain a heart of wisdom.

Scripture describes our lives like this --

... people are like the grass.
Their beauty fades as quickly
as the flowers in a field. - Isaiah 40:6

But their fame will not last. They will die, just like animals. - Psalm 49:12

We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.
We heap up wealth,
not knowing who will spend it. - Psalm 39:6

 “All men think all men are mortal but themselves,” wrote the seventeenth-century English poet Edward Young.

Why was the rich fool a fool?

“Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” Luke 12:21

That is, he did not handle money in a God-centred way.

The rich fool was too busy being successful to care  about this piece of advice --

We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us. - Ecclesiastes 5:15

Man is born with his hands clenched; he dies with his hands wide open. Entering life he desires to grasp everything; leaving the world, all that he possessed has slipped away.  Talmud

After John D. Rockefeller died his accountant was asked "how much did he leave behind?" The accountant replied "all of it."

"You never see a U-Haul behind a hearse, Ryder.
The Egyptians tried it. It doesn't work.
You can't take the money with you."

We worship materialism at our peril

C.S. Lewis and Materialism

Critiques of Materialism

Role of financial counselor

In Mark 12 we meet a poor widow.  She put two tiny copper coins in the temple offering box. Jesus was watching her - did He question the woman's wisdom?  Did He say she should have been more sensible than to surrender her only remaining resources?  He gave her an unqualified commendation --

“I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions.  For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.” - Mark 12:43-44

In Luke 12 we meet a rich man.  We're not told that he gained his wealth dishonestly or that he wasn't religious.   So what did God have to say to this man?

‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’
 “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”   Luke 12:20-21

Who are featured more frequently in Christian magazines and talk shows -- poor widows or rich fools?  Today, don't we have a scarcity of poor widows and a surplus of rich fools?