An understanding of biblical stewardship is foundational to financial life planning.
Biblical stewardship is the use of God-given resources (time, talent, treasure, truth, relationships, etc.) for the accomplishment of God-given goals and objectives. There’s a lot packed into that definition, I know! My goal is to work through some important concepts relating to biblical stewardship in this blog post, and leave you with some good topics for further discussion at home.
I’d like to take a step back to put some perspective on the difference between what the world says about our finances, and what God says. The world’s view of stewardship is that I can use whatever I have for my own purposes. Likewise, the American dream promises us that the more money we have, the more freedom, joy, and happiness will fill our lives. Now, you may already know that God’s view is quite different from the world’s. The reality is that the more we have, the more we have a fear of loss! A foundational truth (potentially the most important) when it comes to biblical financial planning and stewardship: God owns it all. 1 Chronicles 29:11-12 beautifully exclaims:
“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.”
I know this concept flies in opposition to everything we are told about money from a secular point of view. I work hard for MY money, I can do whatever I want with it! And while this biblical truth is simple, I personally know how difficult it can sometimes be to change my thinking and to transform my mind to reflect the truth that God has laid out. I encourage you to reflect on this passage from scripture and ask God to renew your mind to align with it.
Contrary to what may initially come to mind, stewardship encompasses more than just the “charitable giving” area of our financial lives. Clients who are obedient to God and His design for their lives will produce fruit reflective of a biblically wise foundation. We call these the five “symptoms of stewardship”:
- Proportionate giving
- Controlled, debt-free lifestyle
- Taxes paid with integrity and thanksgiving
- Jointly set financial goals (spouses in agreement)
- Accountability – one way is through a relationship with a financial advisor
As Christians, you fill the roll of stewards in many different areas of your lives: the way you provide for children or aging parents, the timely manner in which you pay your bills and household expenses, the offering you give to your church, the taxes on your property and income that you pay the government. Essentially every decision you make in regards to your money, every spending decision is a spiritual one and reflects your call to be good stewards of God’s resources.
Jesus gives us a perfect example of stewardship in his “Parable of the Talents.”
“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ – Matthew 25:14-30
From this parable, I can trust that I brought nothing into this world; I will take nothing out, everything I have comes from God, and God holds me accountable for how I handle His resources.
People don’t innately make wise financial decisions, and wise financial decisions begin with cash flow. The best way to break down your cash flow is to follow a diagram called the “Live, Give, Owe, Grow Diagram.” I covered this in my blog post on “The Five Uses of Money.”These are the only five ways we can spend our money, and they always compete. In other words, when one slice of the pie grows, another slice will shrink. As we break down these five areas and look at what the Bible says about each, I’d like you to keep your own cash flow in mind.
The first category is “Live.” The biggest determiner of financial freedom is answering, “How much is enough?” for this wedge. The objective here is to balance provision and protection for our living expenses. As you can see from the sample diagram, this wedge is often the largest slice from our cash flow. This wedge would include your home repair expenses and utility bills, grocery budget, entertainment expenses, hobbies…this list is extensive. A good place to look through closely would be your bank statements. This can give you a month-to-month view of where every dollar is going in your budget.
The second category is “Give.” The Bible tells us to give generously, and that giving breaks the power of money.
“Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good reserve for the age to come, so that they may take hold of life that is real.” -1 Timothy 6:17-19
You may feel a responsibility to care for your aging parents, and to provide modest monetary support for them. Those funds would fall into this category, along with whatever you set aside for your charitable giving. You can find the specific dollar value for this figure in Schedule A of your tax return.
Next is the “Owe” category, which can be split between “debt” and “taxes.” Scripture is very clear that we are to avoid the use of debt.
“The rich rules over the poor,
and the borrower is the slave of the lender.” – Proverbs 22:7
Debt always mortgages the future. Borrowing today sentences me to a lower standard of living in the future. The mortgage on your home, car payments, and credit card debt all make up this wedge. While debt is something we should avoid as much as possible, and strive to be free from if we are already indebted, our taxes are an area that we simply cannot avoid completely. If you earn an income, you will owe taxes to the government, but they are symptomatic of God’s provision for your life. Tying this in with the third symptom of stewardship, I can pay my taxes with integrity and thanksgiving, displaying a respect for the authority of government God has placed in my life.
The final category encompasses growth, or savings. Growing margin is the only way to meet your long-term goals. These goals could be financial independence (retirement), charitable giving, freedom from debt (paying off credit cards or mortgage), lifestyle desires (vacation home), family needs (planning for education for children), or a new business. This wedge tends to be where many financial advisors will focus the majority of their planning efforts, but while it is important, it is just one aspect of stewardship.
Stewardship is the only area of the Christian life that cannot be faked. The way we spend our money is a measure of our real priorities. The LGOG diagram will give you a clear visual picture of where your cash is flowing, and it is a great planning tool as we begin to look at your finances, set goals, and establish a plan. Over the next few days, I encourage you to sit down together and look over your finances (bank statements, tax returns, pay stubs) and work on a rough draft of what your own personal diagram looks like. Please reach out with any questions you have!