The theme of our stewardship program is, “Our Money Story.” This week, we REIMAGINE our money story to be more like God’s money story. Our money story is a way of talking about what we care about; what we value. I love teaching about stewardship because it is the most direct way I know of changing our lives, of reimagining our money story to ask, what can we share? What can we give? How can we comfort, forgive, and bless?
Jesus talked about money and possessions more than faith and prayer. If you want to change someone’s heart, start with their wealth and possessions. Or, as Jesus says, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
The world tells us that we will be happy if we have more: more money, more possessions, more power, more fame. Jesus teaches us to pray for enough, and that love and happiness grow out of gratitude and generosity.
The blessings of following Jesus do not come because we are good people who believe the right things. The blessings come when we change the way we live, engaging in the spiritual practices of worship, prayer, forgiveness, and generosity. The blessings come when we put our treasure in heaven.
And so, the point of stewardship is to reimagine our money story. There are a lot of voices out there telling us what to want, what to buy, and what we need to be happy. Jesus suggests instead that we ask, what can we share? What can we give? How can we comfort, forgive, and bless?
That is how we reimagine happiness.
With love,
David+