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If you are someone who is at all engaged in current events—whether by way of traditional media or new media sources—it often feels as though we can’t go more than a few hours without talk about “the economy”.

Everything from gas prices to grocery bills, home energy costs to mortgage rates, and all the things in between are all somehow tied to this grand concept of the economy. It matters to us all because it impacts us all.

Interestingly, our fall Stewardship theme is focused on God’s economy. As I shared in my sermon on 10/18, I don't know that I’ve ever really thought of God as having an economy. 

Scripture, however, repeatedly shows us all the ways in which God operates differently than the worldly structures we exist in—which includes God’s economy! 

Because we rely so heavily on money as our means of access to goods, services, and other necessities, we might be inclined to only think of God’s economy as being money-based. This impacts how we understand and participate in stewardship, where we usually conflate stewardship with money. 

I know this isn’t always a welcome interpretation, especially as we discuss the financial needs of our ministry, but good stewardship is first and foremost a spiritual discipline. We cannot be good stewards if we do not first ground ourselves in God.

Rooting ourselves in the only One who will never fail us, who will never abandon us, leads us to putting all our faith and trust in God and God’s care for us. 

Sharing what has been entrusted to us becomes an opportunity for joy, an opportunity to show our love for God, and an opportunity to return just a small portion of our the everything we have.

The Pharaoh economies of our world require us to give as an act of allegiance, but without care, concern, or return on that investment for us. 

God’s economy offers us the opportunity to give our time, our talents, and our treasures in response to everything God has already done. We don’t give to earn God’s love, care, or forgiveness. We get to give as a response born out of love for God.

As we prepare to make our commitments for 2027 in worship on November 15, I pray that we hold God’s promises close. I pray that God opens our eyes to see, our ears to hear, and our hearts to trust in God’s continuous abundance and care for us. I pray that we consider what opportunities God is inviting us to say “yes” to through our time, talents, and treasures—and what we might need to say “no” to in order to do so.  

God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. ~ 2 Corinthians 9:8 (NRSVue)