MHoggard_Lesson10_Treasure: Financial_Priorities

[Margaret Hoggard]

Question 3. What are the guiding principles that matter most in stewarding your personal material and financial resources?

When it comes to material and financial resources, the principles laid out by Paul in 1st Timothy 6 have given me guidance in the right attitude towards money and possessions. This passage not only warns that the love of money is the root of all evil but also warns against being prideful about wealth and placing hope in it rather than in the Lord. Verses 17 to 19 provide instructions for Timothy to teach that are still relevant for Christians today: “ Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” Interestingly, this chapter also warns about false prophets “who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain” rather than to the contentment just having simple food and clothing actually brings (v. 5-6).

My husband and I strive to be grateful for all that we have and generous to others, while at the same time being mindful that sometimes the people appealing for money do not always use it for good purposes. When each day brings at least one charitable appeal and sometimes five or six, we believe that good stewardship includes being very careful about what donations we make and how they are used. Increasingly, besides our church tithes, we are looking to support good works that are happening at a grassroots level where we know our donations can do the most good rather than being frittered away.

We also consider our time and our volunteer work as finite resources that are also part of our obligation to practice careful stewardship. Blessing others through the work of our hands or through extending hospitality to them also allow us to practice of godliness that brings deep contentment as they are tangible ways to worship God by sharing what, after all, He has provided to us.

Blessings,
Maggie Hoggard

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