Today on MoneyLife

Today Chuck teaches on how to have an abundant life through the discipline of stewardship.

God desires for us to live an abundant life and receive all of the blessings He has for us. Many people equate abundance with wealth or a happy, pain-free life, but God never promised us those things.

Living the abundant life requires you to apply the biblical principle of stewardship, which is not taught much in churches today and therefore greatly misunderstood.

• Stewardship is not a giving campaign at a local church
• Stewardship is not being a wise consumer, living on a budget, getting debt-free
• Stewardship is not having everything promised by our culture
• Stewardship is now more popular outside the church than inside it
• Stewardship is not acknowledging that God owns it all
• Stewardship is a comprehensive approach to living your life eternally
• Stewardship is God’s glorious plan for your life
• Stewardship is giving God access to you, not just your stuff
• Stewardship is making life choices that demonstrate love for God
• Stewardship should reorder the priorities of your life for God's Kingdom
• Stewardship is what we believe and how we act on those beliefs about money
• Parable of the Talents teaches stewardship unrelated to how much money you have
• See Matthew 25:14-30

Further teaching points:

• Stewardship is not what you spend, it’s allowing God to spend you
• Our decisions on Earth impact us for eternity
• The unfaithful servant acknowledged God owned it all, but he wasn’t faithful to fulfill God’s purpose for what He had been given
• Being faithful with money is the same as being faithful in marriage
• The faithful servants were rewarded for all of eternity
• Your decisions in this world have far more impact than your personal peace and prosperity now
• If you’re faithful to the Lord in this life, one day He’ll put you in charge of more
• Never underestimate how important it is to demonstrate love and faithfulness to God
• When God says, “Well done good and faithful servant,” He’s saying you did well because you fulfilled His purposes
• God loves a cheerful giver because that person is willing to let go of what he has
• You wouldn’t have anything or the ability to make a living without God

• 2 Corinthians 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."
  
• Deuteronomy 8:17-18, "You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today."

Seeking God's Kingdom

The admonition to “seek first His kingdom” is given by Jesus as a contrast of worrying about material things.

• Read More

Suffering for Christ vs. Living Like a King

Neither a voluntary rejection of all wealth nor a display of material success is part of a balanced Christian walk.

• Read More

Bottom-Line Discipleship

You can’t serve the Savior and all that stuff on an equal footing. One has to take precedence.

• Read More

Qualities of a Generous Giver

Where do generous givers come from? How does God cultivate generous giving in the hearts of his children?

• Read More

Other Resources:

• Career Direct
• Your Money After the Big 5-0
• Crown Mvelopes