Stewardship of Sufficiency
Every now and again I read a book that captures me and stays with me for a very long time. Sometimes it is a mystery thriller, but most often it is a book that offers probing thought about a better way for me to live my life as a person of faith. How Much is Enough? by Arthur Simon is such a book, one that invited me to honestly consider my hunger for God amidst the affluence of the culture in which I live.
I do wonder how many readers of this magazine will stop right about here as they skim the first paragraph of this article. Amidst these changing economic times, many people hardly feel affluent. The reality is that when compared to other moments in history when gas and even food prices soared, the percentage of our income spent on such commodities is less now than it was then. Even though we spend $4 per gallon, still, in relationship to our own history and certainly in relationship to 99% of the world’s population, we are affluent.
I write this article as one who makes some modest effort to live, at least to some degree, what it means to be a Biblical steward. As I do, I must ask myself the question, “How much is enough?” Throughout his book, Simon, founder and president emeritus of Bread for the World, invites us to examine how we live and what we have. He then invites us to consider the needs of others who depend upon our generosity. Implicit in all of the Gospels and, I believe, throughout the entire body of scripture is the call to people of faith to supply sufficiency. Because we have received sufficiency, we are to extend sufficiency.
In 2 Corinthians 8:13-15, Paul calls for a “fair balance.” He reminds readers of the Exodus event and manna that God gave to all who were hungry. It is written in Exodus 16:18 that “the one who had much did not have too much that the one who had little did not have too little.” What a marvelous image. The call is clear and beyond any point of argument, those of us with “enough” must not have too much so that we may give to those who are in danger of having too little.
When I think of sufficiency I am brought to realize what I have received and how I use it. I am invited, and some would say commanded, to practice the discipline of the tithe. I understand the practical purpose and goal of the tithe is to provide sufficiency. As I give 10% of my income, I recognize that I have enough. As I give 10% of my income, I promote sufficiency in two vital ways consistent with the very heart of the Gospel.
First is that I give to those who have so very little. The hungry and the poor are not abstract statistics. They are people at the very heart of God. I believe with all of my heart that every person of faith within the Moravian Church “should” be an active contributor to agencies that make efforts to eradicate poverty at every level. The complexities surrounding poverty are enormous, but the opportunities are even greater. The support of local shelters, food pantries, and crisis centers is a fair expectation of all believers. Beyond that is the support of agencies such as Bread for the World, Christian Children’s Fund, World Vision, UNICEF, and a host of others that share in the world-wide mission of creating pools of sufficiency from those of us who know that we have enough. Such giving comes from a portion of my tithe to the “storehouse, that there may be food enough” (Malachi 3:10). We, the affluent, have the potential to impact the lives of those who live in extreme and consistent poverty. First we must answer the question for ourselves, how much is enough?
Second is that I give to support the ministry of the church. As mentioned, implicit in the Gospels and throughout scripture is the call to people of faith to support the ministry of the “church” whose primary purpose is to feed the souls of the faithful that each may grow and more “perfectly” live the faith they embrace. The church deserves to be the recipient of generous gifts that will allow it to be solvent, vibrant, and healthy. The church (potentially) has all of the resources it needs, but those resources are sometimes buried in the pockets of believers yet to answer the question for themselves, “How much is enough?”
In closing, I realize the potential and the difficulty in all of this. As writes Walter Brueggman (The Prophetic Imagination, Fortress Press, 2001), “The contemporary American church is so largely enculturated in the American ethos of consumerism that it has little power to believe or to act.” What he means is that we are so accustomed to consuming that we believe we do not have enough, and, thus, do not extend sufficiency to those in poverty and to support as is needed the ministry of the church. The reality is clear statistically. Despite our level of affluence, the average person of faith gives about 2% of after tax income to charitable causes. Just imagine what would be possible if we gave 10%. Just imagine what that would do for the poor. Just imagine what that would do for the church.
How much is enough? What is your understanding and practice of the stewardship of sufficiency? The answers can make all of the difference.
