I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Luke 16:9
“In regard to money — there is a great advantage in its methodical use. Especially is it wise to dedicate a certain portion of our means to purposes of charity and religion, and this is more easily begun in youth than in after-life.
The greatest advantage of making a little fund of this kind is that when we are asked to give, competition is not between self on the one hand and any charity on the other, but between the different purposes of religion and charity with one another, among which we out to make the most careful choice…
No one can tell the richness of the blessings that come to those who thus honor the Lord with their substance. This practice delivers one from the worry of debating every separate appeal that comes, and makes him a free and glad trustee.”
Robert E. Speer in “Proportionate Giving” in Men and Missions, vol. 8, no. 1 (New York: Layman’s Missionary Movement, 1916) 155.
Today’s meditation is the last in a recent series of posts linked to my reading of stewardship materials from a century ago. There was a missional richness in them that was refreshing to read. In their day, they sparked renewal and revival because they pointed people to faithfulness which positions us for fruitfulness.
One way stewards are becoming “free and glad trustees” today is through setting up a giving fund at National Christian Foundation. Once a person puts money in their fund, it releases the competition of spending on self or charity, as Speer put it. We have an NCF fund and would encourage you to set one up too.
This post seemed fitting because tonight, Jenni and I are going to a dinner honoring Bryan & Suzanne Chrisman for 5 years of service to NCF Colorado. They have stepped down to help care for aging parents and will be honored for helping many people grow as “free and glad trustees” of God’s resources.