Growing Generosity in Donors' Hearts

Stewardship is a term that describes the care and management of God's blessings that are entrusted to our care. We can either be poor stewards (hoarders of that which doesn't belong to us) or good stewards (freely returning to God what is His and in ways that honor Him and delight us).

Where the rubber meets the road is when we go down one level and ask, "Where does generosity come into play?"

We might say that generosity is for those who have amassed a large amount of money and who are near the end of their careers when they know their financial needs are very manageable.

Maybe generosity is for the person who wins the lottery or gets a big inheritance.

The problem for me, and maybe for you, is that I cannot bear the thought that I might not be generous. That problem is magnified when I have the professional role to encourage people to give joyously to God's Kingdom. Because I know the condition of my heart, one that holds back too often, I sometimes feel wholly unqualified to address giving with others.

Praise the Lord that my life is not the standard; His Word is. One of the ways we can encourage generosity to help donors see the eternal perspective:

Matt. 6:19-24
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

Notice the reference to temporal treasures - they go away. Notice the heart's affections. Notice the absence of sight (darkness) when we try try to serve two masters.

There is a warning and an encouragement. While we preach this message to our donor friends, let us make sure that we stand and practice in the mirror to make sure we hear it ourselves.