My Stewardship Journey

            When I was young, and started attending Sunday school, my parents undoubtedly put something in my offering envelope for me.  However, as soon as I was old enough to receive an allowance, my offering came out of whatever I had received.  As I got a little bit older and sometimes made some money babysitting or cutting my grandmother’s lawn, 10% of whatever I made went into my offering.  So if I made $10 babysitting, there was $1 in my offering that Sunday.  I learned this both from my parents and from my congregation.

            When I was confirmed, I received a set of offering envelopes for “upstairs,” rather than downstairs.  Through my teenage years I continued to put in 10% of whatever I made. However, once university came along this was a little more difficult, as now there were more bills to be paid.

            Also during university, though, my congregation sent me to a stewardship workshop put on by the Lutheran Laity Movement, along with other members of the congregation.  They knew I was intending to go to seminary by this time, so that might have had something to do with it.  However, I still remember many of the biblical principles that were taught at that workshop.

            They talked about the tithe (giving 10%), which I already knew about, and the promise of blessing that goes with it (Mal. 3:10).  They talked about giving the first and the best to God (like Abel, not Cain – Gen. 4) – in other words, setting aside your offering first rather than giving leftovers.  They talked about the tithe being what already belongs to God, and anything above that being an offering (hence, the phrase “tithes and offerings”).  They talked about joy in giving, “for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7).  They also talked about generosity as a fruit of the Spirit.

            All of this was part of my background before I ever went to seminary.  Once there, however, finances became tighter and tighter.  I survived on student loans, part-time jobs, and the odd bursary or scholarship.  Giving 10% went by the wayside, and I simply gave what I could.

            Once I graduated and began serving in St. Albert, Alberta, I finally had a steady income.  However, I was still paying off student loans and other debts accumulated during seminary.  While I still had 10% in mind as a goal, I couldn’t quite do it.  I gave what I could and gradually tried to increase my giving a little bit each year.

            When I finally managed to start giving 10% again, an amazing thing happened.  I suddenly had more than I had ever had before.  The overflowing blessing promised in Malachi held true.  Since that time, whenever my salary increases, so does my offering, which is no longer just 10%.  In fact, it is a joy every time I am able to give an offering, for this means that God has continued to provide.

            These days, I think about this journey every so often and wonder how we are doing teaching our children about giving back to God.  I also wonder: if our young people were handed a set of offering envelopes when they are confirmed, would they use them?  And how do the children learn if the parents have never learned?

            I am well aware that there are people who think that the church is only out to get your money.  However, the truth is that it is God’s money, not ours, and what we do with it reflects our faith in Jesus Christ.  God gives us our selves, our time and our possessions.  What, then, shall we give in return?

In Christ,

Pastor Lynne Hutchison