Biblical Principles Supporting Stewardship

God Owns Everything, and I Am His Money Manager

• Psalm 24:1 — “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”
• Leviticus 25:23 — “The land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants.”
• Haggai 2:8 — “ ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”
• 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 — “You are not your own; you were bought at a price.”
• John 3:16 — For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
• Deuteronomy 8:18 — “Remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.”
• 1 Corinthians 4:2 — “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.”
• Romans 14:10-12 — “For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat … each of us will give an account of himself to God.”

My Heart Always Goes Where I Put God’s Money

• Ecclesiastes 5:12 — “The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep.”
• Matthew 6:19-21 — “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Heaven, Not Earth, Is My Home

• Philippians 3:20 — “Our citizenship is in heaven.”
• Psalm 90:10 — “The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.”
• Psalm 39:5b — “Each man’s life is but a breath.”

I Should Not Live Merely for the Moment but for Eternity

• Hebrews 11:25-26 — “[Moses] chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.”
• Matthew 25:21 — “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ ”

Giving Is the Only Antidote to Materialism

• Ecclesiastes 5:10, 13-14 — “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless … I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when he has a son there is nothing left for him.”
• 1 Timothy 6:9-10 — “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 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 6:17-18 — “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”

God Prospers Me to Raise Not My Standard of Living, but My Standard of Giving

• Malachi 3:10b — “ ‘Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.’ ”
• Luke 6:38 — “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
• Luke 12:33 — “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.”
• Acts 20:35 — “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
• 2 Corinthians 8:7 — “But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”
• 2 Corinthians 9:7 — “God loves a cheerful giver.”
• 2 Corinthians 9:10-13 — “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.”