to be used for its intended purpose.

That makes a whole new spin on things. Try praying,’ Lord, may my finances be used for their intended purpose.’ Prosperity.

In Proverbs 30 the writer asks two things of God;
Pro 30:7 Two things I ask of you;
deny them not to me before I die:
Pro 30:8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
Pro 30:9 lest I be full and deny you
and say, “Who is the LORD?”
or lest I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God.

And that is the conclusion that I have come to; that even if He were to bless my businesses with an abundance, I have decided in my heart that I will keep what is needful for me and no more. Like John Wesley I have set a salary cap for myself, and the rest will go to whatever is on His heart; the widows and the orphans (James 1:27), the poor (all throughout scripture), the advancing of His Kingdom, etc..

I think it’s important to note this story that Yeshua told His disciples;
Mar 12:42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.
Mar 12:43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.
Mar 12:44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

The abundance is never for us, read Luke 12:13-20 to see what God’s heart is for our abundance. If we don’t know when our life will be demanded of us, why would we want to be caught with an abundance in storehouses (banks) when there are poor and needy among us. God knows our needs and provides, so we can provide.

Right on money, so to speak , Brother! This is something that I have (and probably most Christians) struggled with most of my Christian life (28 years). It has only been for the past 5 or six years that I have begun to understand that we in the pew have been called to support those in the pulpit. We cannot do that if we are conformed to the world of debt, mediocre jobs (that we hate), fear of success, and a fatalistic attitude!

Like you, I believe that we in the pew have a God-mandated responsibility to live out Galatians 6:10, “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially those who are of the household of faith.”

I have begun studying what the Bible says about all this and journaling it in my blog, http://noble-success.com. Thanks to your great article on blogging, I will be spending quite a few hours now on optimizing the blog to make it more useful to others.

We have a lot of common thought, my friend (as I am sure many do). I look forward to becoming more familiar with your work and ways to mutually re-introduce and promote the Biblical teachings of good stewardship to a Church which has been conformed rather than transformed (Romans 12:2)

I want to be a good steward as Bob pointed out, what i have does not belong to me i am just “holding it for the owner” but i can use it as he pleases.

joe

RE: tithing, there’s a counter opinion on it in Pagan Christianity (George Barna and Frank Viola) that I tend to agree with. They maintain that the tithe is an OT directive that wasn’t meant for Christians. Plus Paul gave us a less specific guideline for giving in 2 Cor 9:7 (“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”).

I think tithing is a good thing that God looks favorably on, but in some churches and sects there’s a tendancy to be compulsive about the it, with a backdoor hint that it’s foundational to our salvation. I think people start feeling guilty about not doing it, as though they aren’t walking with the Lord as a result. I’ve seen people in tough financial situations who didn’t have the money to do but stressed over it. I doubt this was ever the intent.

Better to give 2% cheerfully, than to struggle and begrudginly cough up 10% as though we’re paying some sort of faith tax.