The Genius of Generosity预览

Generosity is a beautiful word, isn’t it? It flows from the tongue easily and conjures up images of joyful, extravagant giving and receiving. 

Stewardship, on the other hand, has a heavier, more serious tone for many people—one of obligation and strict limits on spending. 

Biblical stewardship, however, is a truly beautiful thing because it’s an amazing privilege that God has given to us. Stewardship is a key part of why generosity is so genius. 

True generosity flows out of an understanding that God owns everything. In His economy, good stewardship is by nature generous and joyful; it directs His resources extravagantly toward His purposes and for His people to deeply enjoy. If we want to understand generosity biblically, we need to see stewardship through new lenses—less as a reluctant obligation and more as an exciting opportunity. 

It’s one thing to believe everything we have belongs to God. It’s another for that truth to sink down into our hearts where we feel it and grasp it; and when it does, our lives are transformed. 

We shift from simply having theoretical knowledge to being practical geniuses. We move from duty to delight; from rules we keep to an adventure we share. We wake up in the morning wondering what we are going to do with God’s time or how we are going to spend His money. We think about how we are going to relate to the spouse and kids He entrusted to us or the friends He’s placed in our lives. 

The principle is this: all that we have belongs to God, and He has temporarily entrusted it to us to oversee according to His wishes. We are managers over God’s household business. 

We get a great picture of this in the Old Testament story of Joseph. Potiphar made Joseph the steward of all his household responsibilities. He put Joseph in charge and gave him power of attorney. Joseph ran the home, kept good accounts, and reported to his boss. 

The point I want to emphasize with this principle is not the fact that God owns everything and we’re His stewards. The deeper issue is trust—a relational issue. It requires that a steward be found trustworthy. God has entrusted to us everything we have for a reason—so we can partner with Him to accomplish His purposes and so we can demonstrate where our true priorities lie.