When Generosity is both a Test and Testimony

Generosity may be one of the first qualities of God that any of us comes to know. However, as created beings made in His likeness, many of us fail to recognize that God expects His people to follow His example in providing for the needs of others.

A common misconception among believers is that we are accountable only with respect to spiritual choices. But God also holds us responsible to manage wisely any material resources that God has given to us.

The bible describes a steward as one in whom God places authority over God's possessions. Central in this concept is that despite human legal practices, a believer recognizes that the earth is the Lord's, and everything in it - the world, and all who live in it. Rather than considering a material item to be an individual's own property, God expects a steward to treat the item as God's own property.

God intends each thing of value that He gives to a steward to produce a specific outcome. Likewise, God expects a steward to make prudent and wise decisions about whatever the steward possesses. However, God imposes neither stewardship's obligations nor its benefits upon anyone who has no serious intent to fulfill them.

In few places does the bible describe this accountability more vividly than it does in describing end times. The Gospels explain that Jesus' return will result in not only a judgment of sin, but also an assessment of His people's faithfulness with what God has given us to accomplish.

Each believer – while secure in God's promise of everlasting life – remains subject to Christ's assessment of what we have done with our blessings. God's word shows that when He judges our deeds, He will assess both the nature and breadth of our stewardship, before assigning to us eternal blessings.

The bible emphasizes that our current faithfulness with material things determines the level at which God will place His people spiritually in charge of His resources in the next life. In measuring faithfulness, we can expect God's priorities to be consistent with His purposes in making His presence known to unbelievers, and in providing mercy to those whom this society has forsaken.

God does not describe His riches only with respect to the intangible realm. Instead, God's word includes both tangible and intangible items in describing the wealth that God has in store for His people in this life, and in the life to come.

On the other hand, God also emphasizes that all of creation must remain the servant of our Creator and His people, and never the other way around. The scriptures frequently remind God's people not to allow material items to divert a believer's attention from the spiritual source of God's provision.

The bible encourages believers to adopt generous giving practices as a means of ensuring that we are never cut off from each blessing's divine source. Furthermore, faithful stewardship transforms a believer's purpose in business and labor from merely working for a living, toward producing a means to express generosity.

Stewardship is a vital expression of spiritual authority within God's Church, and requires a believer at all times to maintain integrity and honesty as essential components of success. In that regard, a steward must maintain fidelity in honoring any vow to which the steward has committed God's resources.

A steward labors with a primary purpose of meeting the needs of the unfortunate and spreading God's liberating truth. This urge to give is merely one part of an overall commitment to impart spiritual discipleship to others.

A steward's approach to giving is not like the larger society's frequently detached approach to charity. Instead, as a testimony of God's care, a steward expresses authentic generosity in a uniquely personal and involved manner toward each recipient.