What if God cared less about the percentage in your envelope and more about the percentage of your heart?
Growing up, I watched my father do something that puzzled my childhood logic. As a pastor with a modest salary, he regularly gave away significant portions of his income to families in greater need than ours. When I complained about not having the toys or restaurant meals I wanted, my mother would gently correct my perspective: "We've never lacked anything because God's providence allows it."
Years later, I understood. My father hadn't mastered a stewardship technique; he had cultivated a stewardship relationship. There's a world of difference.
When God Asks for Everything
Most of us have been there: tithe check written, offering envelope sealed, spiritual duty completed. We've reduced stewardship to a transaction. However, faithful stewardship actually begins where tithing ends.
In 1 Chron. 29:14, David prayed, "Everything comes from You, and we have given You only what comes from Your hand." Notice that word: everything. David's acknowledging that stewardship encompasses every dimension of our existence.
In Matt. 6:21, Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." He doesn't say, "Where your tithe is." How we manage all our resources reveals the true condition of our hearts.
Paul expanded this in Rom. 12:1: "Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship." Stewardship isn't a category of Christian life; it's Christian life expressed through every choice.
The Conversation My Father Had
Let me tell you more about how this looked in practice.
My father's generosity flowed from continuous dialogue with God. He didn't just pray about his tithe; he prayed about his time, his professional decisions, his health and his relationships. Every aspect of life became an opportunity to ask, "God, what would You have me do with this?"
When we limit stewardship to financial giving, we miss countless opportunities for God to guide us — how we invest our time, care for our bodies, develop our talents, build community.
Biblical stewardship isn't about God needing our resources — He owns everything already. It's about us needing the transformation that comes from surrendering everything to His guidance. When we engage in daily dialogue with Him, our hearts start aligning with God's heart, and our priorities naturally shift from accumulation to kingdom investment.
Faith and Planning Together
Now, you might think my mother's approach contradicted my father's generosity, but here's where it gets interesting.
Mal. 3:10 invites us to "bring the whole tithe into the storehouse" with a promise of blessing. This passage remains foundational. Tithing demonstrates our trust in God's provision and supports gospel ministry. But notice that even here, God says, "Test Me in this." He's inviting us into experiential faith, not just religious obligation.
My mother understood this. She had a folder with white envelopes labeled for specific purposes: food, clothing, car maintenance and education. When my father's salary arrived, she carefully divided it among these envelopes. "An empty envelope means no more money for that activity until it's replenished," she would explain.
I remember those worn envelopes and her handwriting on each one. This wasn't faithlessness — it was faithful stewardship in action. She demonstrated that honoring God requires trust and planning working together, surrender and wisdom, generosity and careful management.
Both my parents taught me the same truth from different angles.
What This Looks Like for Me
I'm still learning this myself. In the morning, I try to ask God how He wants me to invest my time and energy that day. When facing significant purchases or commitments, I pause and ask, "Does this align with God's purposes for the resources He's entrusted to me?" In the evening — when I remember — I review my day: Where did I steward well? Where did I just default to my preferences?
I don't always get this right, but I'm learning that faithful stewardship isn't about achieving perfect financial management. It's about cultivating a relationship with God where every resource becomes an opportunity for conversation with Him.
My father understood something transformative: God doesn't want our tithe as much as He wants our trust. He doesn't need our offerings as much as He desires our ongoing conversation with Him. When we steward our resources in continuous communion with Him, generosity isn't a sacrifice — it's a joy.
That's the journey I'm inviting us to consider together. Every day can be wonderful when we're walking in conversation with God about everything — including our money.
