Do Generosity and Stewardship Mean the Same Thing?
In recent years generosity and generosity ministry has gained popularity in the Church and non-profit organizations. Many church leaders have begun to use generosity in place of stewardship. This may seem like a better way to communicate the same thing for some, but do generosity and stewardship mean the same thing?
What is Stewardship?
Stewardship is defined as: an ethical value that embodies the responsible planning and management of resources. It was originally made up of the tasks of a domestic steward from stiġ (house, hall) and weard, (ward, guard, guardian, keeper). These tasks are carried out by a steward, a person who acts as the manager of resources such as an estate, including property and financial affairs.
The Bible doesn't use the word steward or stewardship a lot. Each is only used a few times in the entire Bible. However, much is implied throughout both the Old and New Testaments about stewardship and being a steward.
To truly understand stewardship, we need to go to the beginning. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) Before anything existed, there was God, who created all things and owns all things.
God created man and gave him dominion over his creation, but he never relinquished his ownership of it. Instead, God gave man the stewardship of his creation. Therefore, each individual is responsible for managing what has been given to them to the glory of God and to the benefit of themselves and others.
What is Generosity?
Similar to steward and stewardship, the Bible has only a few direct references to the words generous or generosity. And most of the time, it is used to encourage lending or giving gifts, most often to the poor or those in need.
The modern English word "generosity" derives from the Latin word generōsus, which means "of noble birth." Most recorded English uses of the word "generous" up to and during the Sixteenth Century reflect an aristocratic sense of being of noble lineage or high birth. To be generous was literally a way of saying "to belong to nobility." (1)
Over the last five centuries in the English-speaking world, "generosity" developed from being primarily the description of an ascribed status of elite nobility to an achieved mark of admirable personal quality and action capable of being exercised in theory by any person who had learned virtue and noble character. (2)
For most of human history, there were only two classes: the poor, the overwhelming majority, and the rich. The middle class began to emerge in the Middle Ages but was small and only fully emerged in the 20th century. Generosity, as we know it today (giving money from a surplus), would have been nearly unheard of since most families were just surviving.
In our modern Western culture, generosity is almost always giving money to a worthy cause. Of course, generosity is much more than giving money. However, when generosity is talked about in the Church, in most circumstances, it is about raising financial support to increase the impact of ministry within or outside the Church.
Do generosity and stewardship mean the same thing?
Stewardship and generosity are not the same things. As described above, stewardship is about managing everything that's entrusted to us, while generosity is giving away a portion of what's been entrusted to us. Generosity is part of stewardship, but it is only one of many decisions a steward must make.
Out of all the financial decisions we make every month, giving is in the minority. An average family household has 100 to 140 individual financial transactions per month. Giving transactions vary between 2 and 6 per month, representing 5% or less of all transactions, meaning that 95% of all financial decisions are about something other than giving.
The portion we give away in relation to the amount we manage is also in the minority. On average, Christians give 2.5% of their income to charity, leaving the other 97.5% for other uses. If we consider tithers, who give between 10% and 15%, it still leaves 85-90% of the income for other uses. Looking at this biblically, the largest amount required to tithe by the Israelites in one year was 23.33%, leaving more than 76% for other uses.
It is clear that most of what we've been entrusted to manage is not related to giving, yet most of the teaching around finances in the Church is focused on giving. We even have a particular moment in our weekly services to encourage giving. With all this focus on giving, why do Christians still give so little?
Stewardship Leads to Generosity
Let's be frank; no ministry can operate for long without financial resources. Church and ministry leaders know this, which is why so many of them focus so much on generosity. Unfortunately, this approach is shortsighted and largely ineffective when it’s the only focus. This is confirmed by the low and declining giving going to churches and para-church ministries.
Most Christians understand the importance of generosity and have a deep desire to be generous. In my more than twenty years of financial counseling, I can't recall one person who didn't want to give, but when looking at their financial situation, couldn't see how they could.
For most Christians, learning how to manage their money better would not only improve their stewardship, it would enable them to start giving or giving more regularly. Lack of giving, at least in the United States, is normally not due to a lack of adequate income; it's due to a lack of financial education from a Biblical perspective. The Church's silence on this topic has exposed and abandoned Christians to the world's wrong teaching on money.
Church leaders should teach God's financial principles to provide God's people with knowledge and wisdom so they can manage money well, overcome materialism, become financially free, and increase their margins. Helping people gain financial peace and freedom is extremely powerful, and it provides a level of care that's measurable and often life-changing.
When financial education is done in a local church context from a biblical perspective, it deepens people's faith and intimacy with God, which usually leads to more generosity. The answer to more generosity isn't an increased focus on generosity alone but rather an increase in biblical financial education. That is the purpose of a stewardship ministry in the Church; to train God’s people to be good stewards and generous givers.
CSN exists to train and equip church leaders to teach God's financial principles so their people can experience intimacy with God, financial health, and the joy of giving. If you're a pastor, let us come alongside you and support your stewardship ministry efforts.
For Further Reading
The Problem with Your General Fund and How to Fix it
Is it Okay for Christians to Be Wealthy?
Will you Inherit the Kingdom of Heaven?
The 2 Most Important Components of Managing Money Well
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