Stingy is Unfaithfulness

“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.” Luke 6:38

Read Matt. 25:14-30: Take a look at, “You wicked, lazy servant!” Now, what is the meaning of unfaithfulness?

Have you ever considered that when we are stingy with the resources God gives us we are being unfaithful? That we are betraying His trust, letting down our Lord and Savior?

Look at it this way, greed, stinginess, selfishness, and miserliness are the rotten fruits, because we hoard what God has given us, what He meant for us to share.

We do not use properly as Christ has given and called us to do. This blocks the flow of God’s blessings and His “living water” from flowing in us. We will become stagnant and useless to either the Kingdom or the people around us. Pride and arrogance will be the driving force-the quintessential things that God hates the most (Proverbs 6:16-18)!

When we are just stingy we are being self-seeking, we are selfish and unconcerned with eternal values or with serving our Lord. By doing this, we fall into a trap, because we are not doing as we should. As a result, natural consequences will take over. God’s precepts are for our benefit and protection; He gives us what is best for us, and we are to pass it on, just as loving parents would do for their child. By not placing ourselves first, we are able to place Christ first and we end up with a better deal. We can seek the His love, and this will compel us to share our richness as Christians with both ourselves and with others. So, out of our completeness in Christ, we can build ourselves up in Him, casting away what has hurt us, what causes us to fear, and what is wrong, replacing it all with biblical stewardship and values. This will be laid on the foundation upon which to create the lasting bonds with Christ and others, as we glorify our Lord and live in and for His Church (Prov. 10:12; Matt. 6:33; John 12:24; Eph. 5:15-21; Phil. 2:21; Col. 1:13).

• Stewardship is the wise use of our materialistic goods and abilities, as well as with our time. Wasting time and resources and not sharing, in the eyes of the Puritans, was a sin, and that notion did not originate with them, but with God’s Word.

• Stewardship is being neither reckless or hiding from our duty by playing it safe.

Read Psalm 24:1; Acts 20:35; 2 Cor. 9:7; James 1:17: What are the standards for stewardship we are to have?

• Stewardship recognizes that we, as Christians, as well as everything in creation, belongs to God.

• Stewardship is proportionate to what we are able to give. The poor person’s small gift is just as important as the rich person’s big gift! Sometimes, we cannot give as much as we would like to, due to economic realities, job loss, business not good, sickness, in fulltime ministry etc., so, we give honestly and efficiently whatever we can.

• Stewardship is the giving of ourselves and our resources with joy and gratitude for what we have been given. Stewardship is not something that results from a forced obligation or a bad attitude. Giving should always be cheerful! If it is not, then you are not really giving–are you?

• Stewardship is the comfort of knowing that everything comes from God. He gives us our clarity and the vision and character of what to be and do. We can trust in Him, and not in our materialistic goods.

When a Christian is giving from selfish motives, he or she expects a return for his or her “investment.” When a real, growing, mature Christian gives, he/she expects nothing in return. One investment is eternal, while the other so-called Christian investment is about the world of just for today.

Thus, a key aspect of stewardship and love means we are not selfish. How do we know if we get this right?

If you do not care for others outside of your circle, then you are demanding your own way because your pride is in the way of His Way, and sin is on its way to you and from you! Our lives will be a false dedication to things that are not centered upon His will. We cannot earn our way, but our way must reflect His work (Rom. 6:12; Eph. 5:15-17; Col. 3:5; 1 Pet. 2:24)!