by John Eaves
Central to any understanding of finances within the church of Christ is the recognition of Divine ownership (cf. Ex. 19:5, Lev. 25:23, Deut. 10:14, Deut. 26:11). Scripture affirms that God's sovereignty totally permeates every sphere of our lives - including our possessions. We can therefore never claim an absolute right of ownership of our possessions.
Our security rests not on our possessions but in the hands of a loving, omnipotent Father who calls us to live out our lives in unconditional trust and submission to him (Matt. 6:25-34, Luke 12: 22-34, 2Cor. 9:8-11).
The giving of our money in the church is primarily related to meeting human need as a visible expression of God's gracious compassion and provision for the poor and needy (Luke 6:27-36, Matt. 25:34-36, James 2:14-17, 1John 3:16-17). Recognizing this experiential call to faithful stewardship in meeting stated needs and its relationship to our faithfulness in Christ, we cannot afford to adopt the "90% mine, 10% God's" attitude.
Rather, we should desire to express our openness to the Spirit's illuminating guidance, accepting our responsibility in meeting needs when they arise (locally or internationally), trusting that our decisions will be glorifying to God.
The church likewise must accept its responsibility and role as a faithful steward of its finances. Therefore, our funds are to be accessible and readily utilized, keeping in mind that our offerings are to be used rather than stored without cause. We reject the concept of the church playing banker with accumulated trusts, land, and wealth, desiring instead to maintain a minimum overhead in order to maximize our ability to use our corporate finances when necessary.
Jesus' words to us on the subject are clearer than one might wish to think: invest yourself in God's kingdom and not in the useless acquisition of wealth (Matt. 6:19-21, Luke 12:32-34, cf., 1Tim. 6:17-19, Heb. 13:5-6).
Version 3.2
As of 26 December 1996