WHY SOME BELIEVERS ARE STINGY

Sometime ago, a pastor lamented about one of his members who doesn't support their local church. He is wealthy and everyone knows he is because he is highly placed in the society. He tells his pastor how he bought new houses and landed properties in choice places but he doesnt put more than N500 naira in his tithe card.

I know how pastors feel when they have such parishioners. I have discussed with pastors who lamented on paying bills in the church especially rent when they have members who are not committed to anything in the church. Surprisingly, their problem is not poverty because this same people love luxury and will stop at nothing acquiring what they don't need to impress people who don't exist.

There are believers who are stingy towards God. Yes, I have seen this. They come to church quite alright but their offering is not commensurate with God's blessings in their lives. Some even pretend as though they have nothing but they prefer to buy expensive clothes and blings at the expense of kingdom advancement.

I have asked to know why some believers are stingy. My discovery shows the reason for that attitude is their lack of understanding about STEWARDSHIP. One subject believers should be taught in this self-centred and materialistic world is the subject of stewardship.

Stewardship started in Genesis(2:15) when God put man in-charge of Eden not as owner but as a steward: "Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it".

From the biblical perspective, who is a steward? A steward is someone chosen or appointed to manage and supervise another person's property or finances. It mean there is an original owner of the very property or money the steward is supervising or managing. It is obvious the owner is superior to the steward. The owner can demand of his steward anytime.

As believers, we own nothing, God owns everything we have. We are just stewards of God's blessings and resources in our care and he can demand for it anytime. Man doesn't have the right of entitlement to what another person own but God is entitled to everything in our care because he is the owner including our very life.

The moment we understand this, stinginess, selfishness and self-centred will die naturally. The early church did not have problem with getting the needed resources for the propagation of the Gospel and helping the poor because the people understood their roles as stewards. There was no emphasis on giving any percentage because they understood God owns 100% and they gave all in many instances.

Tithing wouldn't be a thing to debate in that era because they gave more than 10%. Only stingy people debate and fight tithing because they are looking for excuses not to give.

Also, the apostles did not sit over God's resources as Lords of empires, they saw administration of God's people and resources as a trust. This they did with utmost reverence and fear of God, not lording it over anyone. I wish we revisit this apostolic practice and make it the norm in our circles.

You can only be stingy with what is yours. You cannot be stingy with another man's property especially when he is demanding for it. If all believers everywhere understand their position as stewards, we won't debate on what to give God. We won't struggle with the Lord when he tells us to release what is in our hands because he gave it to us.

Don't live like that rich fool who thought all the abundance he had was by his power and the only thing left was for him to merry and enjoy. He was not rich towards God and his kingdom, his life was taken from him. Why? Heaven is not profiting from his life.

That which you are witholding is not yours, when God comes asking for it, release it. That is when he can trust you with more: "Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything"( Prov 11:24).