This blog is a continuation of the Simple Discipleship blog series on the four guidelines that help the church make mature disciples of Jesus. You can read the other blogs here and stream the sermons here.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19–21 ESV emphasis added)Part of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus is to follow Him into a life of radical generosity. To be honest, some days, I wish it weren’t so. I wish there were a way to be a devoted disciple without it costing anything. But Jesus was the most radically generous person who ever lived. Christ gave away His life for the blessing and flourishing of others, and He called us to believe that it is more blessed to give than it is to receive (Acts 20:35). Growing to believe that assertion more and more and then living in its truth is part of the sanctifying life of being a disciple of Jesus.
The truth is that God has given to us not only for our blessing, but so we might bless others. Everything comes from Him, and we are stewards of the time, talents, and treasures He has bestowed on us. If He calls us to be generous, we must know how to graciously receive from God and faithfully steward because the gift is not ours to hoard.
Believing that isn’t easy. The pressures we feel, the seeming lack of provision we experience, and the ingrained (both culturally and in our own sinful hearts) instinct to self-preserve, self-protect, and self-provide make it feel as though we have nothing to give. When we persuade ourselves of that, we miss out on a significant part of following King Jesus with joy and abandon.
I remember a season in my life where I felt stretched to capacity in every direction, and it took a hard conversation with a good friend to pull me back to reality. I had expressed some frustration about feeling like I had nothing left to give. I was serving, but didn’t feel like I was making a difference. I was making sacrifices, but didn’t feel they were appreciated or noticed. I wanted to be generous with my finances, but it didn’t feel like God had provided enough for me to do that.
My friend interrupted my pity party by reminding me of some simple truths:
As hard as this conversation was, it set me on a path of viewing stewardship as a key part of my walk with Jesus. While my journey of maturity in that area hasn’t been perfect nor even linear, the Lord has continued to grow and bless me with joy and freedom. But I needed, and still need, a proper heart check.
Jesus says in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Notice the order. He doesn’t say your heart determines your treasure; He says your treasure reveals where your heart is. This gives us one of the most useful and disarming diagnostic tools of the Christian faith.
According to Jesus, if you want to know where your heart is, just examine what you spend your time, talent, and treasures on. This reveals your most precious longings, because each longing leaves receipts of what occupies the highest place in your heart.
When my friend sat with me all those years ago, my audit revealed a heart that turns in on itself. My heart was weary and beginning to believe the lie that a life of independence and self-protection would bring greater joy.
Now, make no mistake, joy is the goal. Jesus compares His kingdom to treasure hidden in a field, which a man finds and, in his joy, sells all that he has to buy that field (Matthew 13:44). In Luke 7, Jesus describes our generosity as a response to being loved much and forgiven much. Overflowing joy should be the posture of a disciple’s giving: not grim duty, but the joy of someone who has found something worth more than everything else. Our treasures merely reveal where we are pursuing that joy and uncover how we really feel about the great pearl of God’s kingdom that we’ve found.
You may have noticed I used the phrase “time, talent, and treasure.” That is because I want to emphasize that a generous life isn’t just about finances. In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis reasoned that “the only things we can keep are the things we freely give to God. What we try to keep for ourselves is just what we are sure to lose.”
The application goes beyond what we put into an offering plate each week. We are called to faithful stewardship of all things that God has uniquely entrusted to us. This may look like giving your time to serve at the church on Sundays, leading or investing in a Discipleship Community, mentoring a younger believer, or buying your neighbor groceries in a moment of need. Moments marked by sacrificial humility and generosity are the aroma of Christ to one another and our city.
None of this earns us anything. It is all response to what’s been freely given by Christ. And it is one of the primary ways God forms us into generous, missional people. Giving your life away for the sake of others is not subtraction. In God’s economy, generosity is gain (Acts 20:35)
What if Jesus’s invitation into greater generosity isn’t because He needs more from us, but because He wants more for us? More contentment, more freedom, more delight in Him, more enjoyment of the life He offers. God gave you a unique combination of time, talent, and treasure to steward for the kingdom. How is that stewardship going?
Here are some practical ways to consider how to wisely steward the time, gifts, and resources God has entrusted to you:
Special thanks to Dietrich Schmidt for helping to prepare this blog post.
