Contentment and Stewardship

Contentment and Stewardship

Introduction

Why look at stewardship at all?
Simply put because Christ talked a lot about it. In fact 19 of the 38 recorded parables we have are about the issues of possessions and wealth. Secondly, within the whole of scripture this issue of possessions and wealth occurs at least 2000 times
This is quite a lot when you realize that issue like faith and prayer are only mentioned 500 times each in Scripture.
So today as we look at issues of stewardship I want to lay as a foundation upon which to build what a steward is biblically speaking.
I could of course give you a dictionary definition of a steward but rather than doing that I will do it the way the Savior did by relating a story that gives an example.
Matthew 25 verse 14 and following relates for us the story of a master with three servants, to the three servants he gave money according to their ability, one received 5 talents, another two and another one…
In the story the master was always the ‘owner’ of the money but the servants were the stewards of the money, they were to manage it, grow it, account for it, and return it upon request.
However in this story only one servant was actually asked at this time to surrender all of his talents and that was the wicked and lazy servant who did nothing with the money other than bury it.
In this parable of Christ we are the servants and God is the master. He has entrusted to us varying amounts of financial resources based on our ability to manage those to his glory.
There is a lot more that can be said about this story but for now it paints for us a picture of what a steward is and how it differs from an owner.

Ownership

It is quite easy for us to think of ourselves as the ‘owner’ of the money in our wallet and in our bank account rather than having the correct understanding that all the resources in the world are God’s and we are just his stewards of a portion of his vast wealth.
This doesn’t just apply to money but also applies to vehicles, real estate, and everything else that God has entrusted to us for us to manage; they are all resources of the King and are to be used to further the Kingdom.
Some people immediately take offense at this teaching; they assume because they earned the money that makes it theirs and that they control how, when and where it is spent and what it is spent on.
Allow me to take a moment and respond to those of you who feel this way.
My short response to that is a simple phrase. “Possession is not a means of ownership.”
If you are thinking to yourself what do I mean by that I’ll explain.
I know my two oldest Children have heard me use this phrase with them and in fairness to them it doesn’t make much sense to a 5 year old.
What I mean is that just because you posses something does not mean you own that item.
For example if you hand your car keys to the valet parking attendant you didn’t transfer ownership of the car to the valet you just entrusted it to him for a short while and when you come for it and request it you expect to get it back in the same condition as when you left it.
Children have a little rhyme they chant sometimes “Finders keepers; losers weepers” however the reality is this isn’t true
If I am walking along and see a car parked on the side of the road with the keys in the ignition I can’t just claim it for myself and drive away chanting as I go “Finders keepers; losers weepers” can I?
Another example: if I steal something, say Noah’s guitar and sell it to a pawn shop and Noah walks into that pawn shop and sees his stolen guitar in the pawn shop and then shows the shop owner a receipt for that guitar and the serial number of his guitar the shop owner must return the item to Noah even though the shop paid me for the item.
The shop owner bought something from me that I didn’t have a legal right to sell therefore he even though I possessed it and then transferred that possession to him it still belonged to Noah all along.
This is what I mean by possession is not a means of ownership.
God’s word tells us in Ps. 24:1 he owns it all; the earth is his and everything in it.
The saying possession is 9/10 of the law; not in the economy of God its not!
The bottom line issue is we need to think about the money in our bank account, the car in our driveway and the dwelling we sleep in as God’s and we are just short term managers of it.
So as we think of ourselves as stewards how do we feel about the subject of giving?
Most people are not opposed to giving in general; in fact most people surveyed about what they would do if given a large windfall of money said they would give some of it to charity.
However most of the people who claim if they had control over a large sum of money would give some to charity are giving little to nothing to charity today.
The same problem exists in churches as it does in the world; many believers sit in church on Sunday’s and promise themselves that if they ever get to a certain level of income they will begin to give to the Lord yet today they give virtually nothing.
So let me ask you, why is it hard for you as a steward of God’s money to give some of it to Kingdom causes? Let’s explore why.

Contentment

The first reason it is difficult to give to Kingdom causes is because there is confusion about who does it belong to in the first place; hopefully we cleared that up.
Second, issue and the one I want to look at in more detail today is the issue of contentment.
If you have overcome the first issue, the issue of ownership, the second issue that robs the believer of the blessings associated with good stewardship is the issue of contentment.
Let’s be honest though we live in a society that is seemingly driven by discontent.
Turn on the television or radio and you are immediately bombarded with advertising and the entire purpose and goal of advertising is to make you become discontent with what you have.
The people in marketing departments are sitting there letting their creative juices flow to try and create a phrase or a visual image that will cause you to instantly realize that you don’t have something and your life would be better if you just had product X.
Churches are not immune to this behavior either; whole denominations have sprung up that in essence cater to this basic craving in man for more.
Pastors telling their followers that God wants you to be healthy, wealthy, popular, and whatever else man’s sinful nature craves.
This type of message, this “other gospel”, would never take root if there wasn’t already the fertile soil of discontent present in the church.
Of course this isn’t a new problem ever since the dawn of time man has desired more and more and the first century culture that the Apostle Paul wrote to was no different.
So let’s examine the apostles own words on the matter, Phil 4: 10 and following.
Paul says “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.”
He says he has been brought low and he has abounded; he can deal with being hungry or well fed and regardless he is content.
Can you say with Paul that in whatever state you find yourself today you are content?
What if things appear to be going well for you today would you still be content if your income were cut in half, your assets cut in half, would you still be content?
If I handed you a piece of paper and asked you to list the things you would like to have would you fill that list quickly with wants but not needs?
Once you have wrestled the monster of ownership you have to tackle this giant of contentment.
Paul as he writes this to the Philippians says a few verses earlier in “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice”.
In the original language that sentence is emphatic; you can think of it as reading “I command you to rejoice and in case you didn’t hear me the first time; rejoice!”
Perhaps you are thinking “you can’t just walk up to someone and order them to rejoice”, well I am not but the Apostle Paul with the authority of the Holy Spirit is.
If you are ready to tackle this issue of contentment then you must teach your heart to rejoice.
So you ask how? Look closely at what verse 4 of chapter 4 says.
It doesn’t say to rejoice in your circumstances; it doesn’t even say to rejoice in spite of your circumstances it says to rejoice in the Lord.
At all times and at all places in life we always have reason to rejoice in the Lord: new mercies each morning, each breath we take, the fact that our names are written in the Lambs Book of Life should be cause for surpassing joy.
You want to live a content life – train your heart to rejoice then you will find contentment.
Paul told Timothy in I Timothy 6:6 “There is great gain in godliness with contentment”.

Ungodly contentment

For balance I want to point out there is an ungodly sort of contentment. Let me highlight that quickly by using stories from the Old Testament.
Moses Ex 2:21 "And Moses was content to dwell with the man..."
Leviticus 10:20 "and when Moses heard the answer was content"
Judges 17:11 "he was content to dwell with the man.
Contentment with second best is a sinful type of contentment that is not what we are talking about here.

Contentment / Stewardship

Think back to earlier when I asked if I were to give you a piece of paper and asked you to list your desires on it, what would you have written on it?
If your mind immediately started making a list and prioritizing it you need to confront in your own life that unlike the Apostle Paul you cannot say that in whatever situation in you are in you are content.
Paul confirms in verse 11 that he didn’t need the gift; God is the source of his supply but he thanks God for the gift because why?
Verse 17 Paul isn’t seeking a gift but he is seeking fruit for the Philippians account.
And yes the gift was fruit, why because it was a sacrifice on the part of the Philippians, they didn’t give from their bounty but from their need as well.
How do we know this? Because Paul in turn encourages them in verse 19. My God will supply all of your needs according to riches in glory.
Paul had learned to trust God for his needs and now that the Philippians had learned generosity and sacrificial giving he thought it would be good to remind them that God would supply all of their needs as well.
How many of you here today know that God owns it all, how many here today believe that God is at work in this church and then how many of you look at your own finances but can’t trust God to meet your needs the way he met Paul’s and the Philippians?
How many of you are saving for a new car, or a new TV, or a new whatever and are afraid that if you give generously and sacrificially to God’s work that God will short change you on something you need or maybe just want?
I will personally attest to the fact that I have never had God sell me short because I gave when it was best that I do so.

Ill.

Let me tell you about William. William was born in the 1700s in England but his parents came to the US to escape persecution for their faith.
William’s father was a farmer but when he came to the US formed a partnership with another man making soap. Young William learned the soap business but that business failed for his father and they went back to farming.
William as he grew older still believed in the soap making business and started his own company but that too failed.
Later in 1804 William went to work for a soap maker and learned more about the trade but then alas that business failed too and William was without work.
In 1806 William again started a soap business and for the fourth time in his life attempted to make his living in soap. However on this attempt something was different. William had committed 10% of his companies profits to the Lord.
Within the first year William’s company had taken off, he expanded from just soap and now was manufacturing and selling starch as well.
The next year William ordered his bookkeepers to increase his giving from 10% to 20%. His business continued to expand and he began making other kinds of soap including hand soap and shaving soap as well.
The next year the order was given to increase giving to 30% of the businesses profits to the Lord.
In addition to what William was giving of the companies profits he personally was funding a missionary on the mission field as well as starting the American Bible Society later the American and Foreign Bible Society.
He contributed heavily to biblical education as well and after his death an University was named after him because of the amount of donations he had given to them over the years.
As he continued to give his business expanded even further so that he became known in the business world as the king of soap.
By the time of his death in 1857 it was reported that he was giving 100% of his companies profits to the Lord and was no longer drawing a personal salary himself but lived entirely off the interest from the money he had made in previous years.
After his death it was determined that he had given literally millions of dollars to missions and this in the early to mid 1800s
William understood stewardship, he saw himself as just a vessel for distributing God’s money.
He understood contentment and he though he possessed great wealth he never allowed it to posses him.
Luke 6:38 tells us “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."
William reaped the benefits of this promise from God. And if William were here with us today don’t you think he would encourage you to put God to the test on this.
I think William would tell you that you can’t out give God no matter how hard you try God will keep putting blessing upon blessing back in your lap.
By the way, every one of you knows William’s company because William’s last name was Colgate. You know him for his toothpaste and shaving cream today but now you know a little more of the story of the King of Soap.
And what do you think the King of Kings said to him in 1857 when he appeared before him? I am sure he heard “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
This takes us back to the parable of Jesus from the beginning. Two servants took their talents and put them to work right away, one servant hid the money in the ground.
When the lazy servant stood before the master he began making excuses for what he had done with the money. The two who had managed their talents well just gave a report.
The lazy servant started with an excuse and an explanation of why he didn’t invest the money. In your own life are you making excuses why you can’t invest the money God has given you back into the Kingdom?
Based on the parable what do you think God’s response will be to you? “Well done?”
When it comes to tithing it is all God’s money anyhow; we have discussed that. Now it comes down to contentment; are you content to let God have what according to Leviticus 27 is God’s?
By tithing you are acknowledging that 100% including the remaining 9/10 is God’s too but when we hoard it all we are only giving lip service to what we believe.
It is often said action speak louder than words. If you believe that 100% really and truly belongs to God then start showing it in your actions.
Let me share with you some examples from my own life. My wife is a more giving person than I am.
When I see a need I am usually very quick to diagnose how the person got in that situation but not so quick to help get them out of that situation.
Men this is where living with a godly woman is hard because sometimes when you aren’t being the priest you are supposed to be she will lead you in truth and you have to acknowledge that you are acting out of the flesh and she is following the promptings of the Spirit.
My wife is a giver; she sees needs she gives to them. We have a rule in our marriage that we don’t spend more than $50 dollars without checking with the other person first and getting consensus.
Occasionally though she will spend more than $50 to meet a need in someone’s life. And my flesh will rear up and say “hey we had a deal, that was more than $50 bucks”
And she will calmly reply that this is how she intends to cut costs to pay for this gift. At which point I am immediately put in my place because she has just identified how she is going to sacrifice to pay for this gift and it is costing me nothing yet I am the one getting all up in arms.
And then I cool off and impressed with my wife because she is watching for needs in others, deciding how to meet the need, figuring out how to pay to meet this need, then doing it.
We have delayed plans or even cancelled plans to purchase certain things for our home and family in order to meet someone else’s immediate needs and you know what my wife has taught me it is so much better to give than to have – in a word: contentment.
This is exactly what Mary did when she washed the feet of Jesus. She was watching for a need, she figured out how she could meet that need, she figured out how much it would cost to meet that need and then she did it.
It was costly to her, it was a sacrifice – and that is what makes a gift precious, the sacrifice.
She was content to live without the alabaster perfume. That was a cushion, a safety net for her – it was worth one years wages but she was content to trust God instead of riches and man was it worth it.
Now today what has God put his finger on in your life?
What is it that you hold on to because you must have it to be content?
What do you put your trust in, a bank account, a trust fund, your portfolio?
What is it you have buried in the ground? What is it you are not willing to let God use?
It really isn’t a matter of whether you are going to let God have it, he will take it anytime he wants, the question was and still is what are you not willing to let God use?