Fiscal Responsibility | Northstar Church

“…everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” – Luke 12:48.

Money is a necessary part of life and is certainly not intrinsically bad or good. It’s one of the many “things” in the life of a Christian that the Lord actually owns, but allows us to use as His stewards. When we properly utilize the “things” that He places at our disposal, and maintain the proper attitude toward them, He very often multiplies them. It is when we adopt the wrong attitude toward “things” that we get in trouble.

Jesus saw wealth as a gift from God to be used in His service (Matthew 25:14-30). Those who have been blessed with wealth must share generously with the poor (Matthew 25: 31-46), and avoid the sins of arrogance (1 Timothy 6:17-19), and greed (Luke 12:13-21).

Those of us who are blessed with wealth beyond our need have a responsibility to share with the less fortunate. We should view our wealth as a gift from God, entrusted to us, to carry out His work on earth. “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?” – 1 John 3:17.

“They should be rich in good works and should give happily to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them. By doing this they will be storing up real treasure for themselves in heaven—it is the only safe investment for eternity.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19)

Questions:

1.The Bible says, “If you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?” (Luke 16:11). This is a very important truth. God says there is a direct relationship between how I use my money and the quality of my spiritual life. How I manage my money (“worldly wealth”) determines how much God can trust me with spiritual blessings (“true riches”). Reflect and pray about the following question: Is the way you manage your money preventing God from doing more in your life?

2. Besides money, consider what other resources has God made you responsible for? Reflect back on the last year. During that time, what resources would God say you invested well? Why?

3. What resources did you overlook or could you have invested more wisely? Why?

4. Pray for wisdom and direction to be good stewards of the resources that God has entrusted to you.