Stewardship Triumphs over Greed
In 1985, I was on assignment for World Vision as an independent consultant working with the Ethiopian Famine Project. One week after I completed this project, I flew to El Salvador and worked with Christian nationals who were involved in evangelism. During those six months, I reached some life-changing conclusions:
1. I was among the rich of the world.
2. My giving must be the result of my spiritual commitment, not my financial ability.
3. If I was going to ask people for financial resources, I had to become a sacrificial giver.
4. I needed to re-discover the biblical standard for stewardship.
For nearly 40 years, I have worked with Christians, encouraging their financial commitments to Christian ministries. For half that time I considered my work to be fund raising; then I discovered it should be challenging people to biblical stewardship.
Paul warned against greed when he wrote to Timothy: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:10
Filed under: Articles on August 14th, 2009