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Our financial stewardship demonstrates love for God. By managing our financial resources wisely, we honor Him as the ultimate provider, acknowledging that all we have comes from Him. Proverbs 3:9 (NIV) instructs, “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops.” This means prioritizing God’s Kingdom in our financial decisions, giving generously, saving responsibly, and avoiding unnecessary debt. 

Our stewardship reflects our trust in God’s provision and our commitment to using His blessings to serve others and advance His Kingdom purposes, which in turn is a loud demonstration of our love and devotion to Him. Our financial stewardship demonstrates love for God.

 

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

 

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Meaning

This text is significant to Jewish thought and theology. One of the most important foundational verses for both ancient and current orthodox Jewish thought. “Shema.” This prayer is foundational, and is considered the most essential declaration of the Jewish faith. It focuses on the monotheism, that God is one. We don’t worship 3 gods or the gods of the pantheon. We worship one God. This was one of the most distinctive features of Jewish theology and thought. This is also why in the time of Jesus, the Romans gave a lot of leniency to the Jews to practice religion the way they want, because they were so opposed to worshiping any other Roman Gods. No other nation was as distinctively monotheistic as Israel.

 

Verse 4: Our God is ONE

Because our God is one, because our God has revealed himself, it is our duty for us to love God. The reality that God has revealed himself to mankind demands a heart response. The verse means that the LORD (Yahweh) is totally unique. He alone is God. (Deere, Jack S. “Deuteronomy.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary).

Verse 5: Love God with all your heart

Verse 5 demands a full-bodied, full heart and mind, full strength commitment to love God. Atheism, or rejection of God, is sin because it is a failure to love God. Agnosticism is sin because it is a failure to love God. To the extent that we don’t love God, we are living in sin. To the extent that our love is half-hearted, it is sin. But cheer up, you are worse than you thought. Cheer up, God’s grace is better than you can ever imagine! (Paul Miller).

All of us fail to live up to the standard that God demands and deserves. Yet, through Jesus Christ, he fulfills all of our lack. A good phrase that is used today is that the Israelite should be “ALL IN”

 

What does it look like to love God with all your heart, soul, and might?

These are not separate components of humanity. The text here is driving the point home that we should love God with EVERYTHING. There are not separate components of life where we should love God more than other parts of our life. We should devote every aspect of our lives to God, no matter how big or how small. Now matter how significant or insignificant we view a task, or part of our lives, it is significant because we do it to the glory and honor of God. There is no separate “secular and sacred.”

 

Financial stewardship demonstrates love for God

How does this apply to stewardship?

Matthew 6:21 – Where your treasure is, there your heart is also.

  • It is clear throughout Scripture that our heart follows our treasure. 
  • How we handle our money (which is our cultural way of storing value) ultimately indicates what we love and value most. 
  • One Pastor said that “I can tell you the spiritual state of everyone in this room if I look at their bank register and credit card transactions.” This is because he can see the things that they love and value most. 
  • Our spending decisions depict and portray our ultimate allegiances.

 

Stewardship Applications

  1. Give. We should give to the local church! It’s a privilege and a joy to give to the Lord! God loves a cheerful giver.
  2. Save. We demonstrate love for God by having reserves (saving).
  3. Spend. We pay our bills on time!
  4. Offerings. We have money set aside to look out for the needs of the less fortunate.
  5. Luxuries. We enjoy the blessings that God provides.

See more on our financial priority framework here.

Our wallets and spending indicate our heart’s affections. Our priorities are revealed in our spending habits.

 

Reflection Questions:

  • How can we spend money in a way that makes God look good? 
  • How does our spending show our love and devotion to our Father in Heaven?
  • How would one steward their resources in a way that would “betray” their allegiance to Christ?

We must remember that our financial stewardship demonstrates love for God

Next Steps

 

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The topics discussed in this podcast are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations.Investing and investment strategies involve risk including the potential loss of principal. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

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