The Lord Loves a Cheerful Giver

“Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:16-17 ES)

This upcoming month, you will hear much about stewardship. Part of this is practical: the church has bills that we’ve got to pay, and we have to come together to be faithful in meeting our obligations with the power company, lawn care folks, maintenance workers, and the like. Yet another part is necessarily spiritual, as James reminds us here. We have been given much by God. And as we have been given much, we ought to give with worshipful expectation that God will be glorified through the work of His church. The Lord loves a cheerful giver, and while this does speak to the giving of our finances and material goods, there are other gifts we ought to consider when we ponder what it means to be good stewards.

Have you sat down and thought through how you spend your time each day? There are few greater gifts we have been given by the Living God than the gift of life. With each day that we are blessed with we ought to consider our time, steward it wisely, and ask ourselves if we are honoring God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. In the frantic “rat race” pace of our current age, we often forget that God has commanded us to rest, and that part of being good stewards of our time and being faithful to God is to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy (that is, set apart). Part of being a good steward is to examine how you are using this gift of life to honor God. Am I wasting my time with endeavors that don’t bear the fruit of the Spirit? Am I failing to honor God’s call to worship Him by resting from my labors? How am I worshipping God in my life, and am I being a good steward of this gift of life?

You may say, “Preacher, you do not know what I am going through. I can’t give even a penny without going bankrupt.” “Pastor, you don’t understand. I’m slammed at work, there’s a project looming overhead, and we’re in crunch time to get it done. How do you expect me to rest this week?” To you, I wish to encourage and remind you that your Father who is in heaven knows your needs in this life and the next. Part of our giving is to give worshipfully, trusting that God has given us out of His wondrous providence, and placing our faith in Him that He will continue to meet our needs now and forever. As it comes to stewarding our time, I ask you, did God, in His foreknowledge, giving the command, say, “Remember the Sabbath, and keep it holy...except for Mary Sue. I know you have a lot on your plate. You can make up for it next week”? Did God command “love your enemies, but only when it’s convenient for you”? If He has, then show me chapter and verse and I will happily repent of my error. But in my Bible, the word is clear. We’ve been given time. And as we are to steward it well in our work, we are also to worship Him by our rest.

This month as we talk about stewardship, much of that conversation will naturally shine a light on our financial giving, and the effectiveness of our church’s stewardship in using those offerings to the glory of God through various forms of ministry. Yet let us also ponder how to be good stewards of all that God has blessed us with. That He may receive all glory, honor, and praise, now and forevermore.

Amen.
Brother Matthew