PUT
HEART INTO STEWARDSHIP
In
continuing my reading the booklet put out by VANCO, titled The Complete
Guide to Church Stewardship, I read about the second of eight rules for
effective church leadership: Put Heart Into Stewardship!
The
Scripture sited was the story of the widow’s offering (Mark 12:41-44):
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the
offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple
treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and
put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his
disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more
into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but
she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
This reminded me of my
favorite stewardship program that is offered by Cokesbury. It is Treasure
by Jacob Armstrong. It cites Matthew 6:21: “Where your treasure is, there your
heart will be also.”
The
widow didn’t give because she had it to give, but because she felt called to,
or wanted to. She gave not from her purse, but from her heart.
This
is what we have to focus on when we talk about giving with our church. We want
our church members to give from their hearts, focusing on God, not on the
amount.
When
we focus on money as the point of money, we miss the point of why Jesus spoke
about money so often. It wasn’t because Jesus thought money was important, but
he knew what the world would cause us to do.
We
need to focus on what the bible says about money, about giving, about
consumerism, greed, society, debt. This is a responsibility for ourselves and
for our churches.
If you wish more information on anything
you’ve been reading about, please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org. I’d be happy to help or answer any questions.
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